A Digital Lifestyle Program in Outpatient Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes: A Randomized Controlled Study

Abstract

Background: Lifestyle is important in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). This study’s aim was to investigate whether a healthy-lifestyle-supporting smartphone application could affect treatment outcomes at an endocrinology outpatient clinic. Methods: Consecutively invited patients were randomly assigned to an intervention or control group after age and gender stratification. In addition to standard care, intervention group participants used a smartphone application to access a lifestyle program (SidekickHealth) through which they received personalized recommendations and education about healthy lifestyles. Tests at baseline and every other month for six months included body weight and blood tests for glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and blood lipids, as well as questionnaires about distress related to diabetes, health-related quality of life, depression, and anxiety. Statistics included comparisons both within and between groups. Results: A total of 37 patients (23 women) were included, whereof 30 finished, 15 in each group (19% dropout); the average age was 51.2 ± 10.6 (25-70) years. No significant differences emerged between groups, but within the intervention group, there was a significant decrease in HbA1c from 61 ± 21.4 to 52.7 ± 15.2 mmol/mol, in disease-specific distress from 19.5 ± 16.5 to 11.7 ± 13.4, and in anxiety symptoms from 5.4 ± 4.0 to 4.1 ± 3.8. No significant changes occurred within the control group. The application usage was most frequent during the first months and differed interpersonally. Conclusions: Our results indicate that the SidekickHealth digital lifestyle program could potentially enhance outpatient treatment in T2DM, in terms of both glycemic control and psychological well-being but larger confirmative studies are needed.

The Clinical Effects of Type 2 Diabetes Patient Management Using Digital Healthcare Technology: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…For behavioral parameters, some studies evaluated self-efficacy, anxiety and depression, quality of life (QOL), diabetes knowledge, etc. [ 10 , 11 , 15 , 16 , 18 , 19 , 20 ]. QOL and self-efficacy scores were generally increased, although such increases in some of these results were not statistically significant.…”

“… Forest plot for meta-analysis results of HbA1c [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 ]. …”

A New Digital Health Program for Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Preliminary Program Evaluation

“…Studies investigating digital interventions for other chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, asthma, and gastrointestinal diseases have shown promising improvements in clinical outcomes in some, although not all, studies [ 23 , 24 ]. Specifically, the digital health programs delivered via the Sidekick Health digital therapeutics platform have previously shown promising results in treating obesity and type 2 diabetes [ 25 , 26 ]. Recent studies have noted that research into platforms for gastrointestinal diseases is limited compared with that for other chronic diseases and that most of the platforms have a lack of professional medical involvement [ 27 ].…”

Type 2 Diabetes Management Intervention Using a blended in-person and Mobile Application: A Feasibility Study

“…Mobile Health (mHealth) interventions have emerged as an innovative and scalable solution to support T2DM management (13)(14)(15)(16). Recent studies have shown that mHealth interventions can be an effective tool to improve lifestyle behaviors (e.g., eating a healthy diet, increasing physical activity) (13,15,16) and improve blood glucose levels (e.g., HbA1C) (14).…”