Effectiveness of Mobile App-Assisted Self-Care Interventions for Improving Patient Outcomes in Type 2 Diabetes and/or Hypertension: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Background Mobile app-assisted self-care interventions are emerging promising tools to support self-care of patients with chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and hypertension. The effectiveness of such interventions requires further exploration for more supporting evidence. Objective A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were conducted to examine the effectiveness of mobile app-assisted self-care interventions developed for type 2 diabetes and/or hypertension in improving patient outcomes. Methods We followed the Cochrane Collaboration guidelines and searched MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, and CINAHL Plus for relevant studies published between January 2007 and January 2019. Primary outcomes included changes in hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels, systolic blood pressure (SBP), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP). Changes in other clinical-, behavioral-, knowledge-, and psychosocial-related outcomes were included as secondary outcomes. Primary outcomes and objective secondary outcomes that were reported in at least two trials were meta-analyzed; otherwise, a narrative synthesis was used for data analysis. Results A total of 27 trials were identified and analyzed. For primary outcomes, the use of mobile app-assisted self-care interventions was associated with significant reductions in HbA1c levels (standardized mean difference [SMD] −0.44, 95% CI −0.59 to −0.29; P<.001), SBP (SMD −0.17, 95% CI −0.31 to −0.03, P=.02), and DBP (SMD −0.17, 95% CI −0.30 to −0.03, P=.02). Subgroup analyses for primary outcomes showed that several intervention features were supportive of self-management, including blood glucose, blood pressure, and medication monitoring, communication with health care providers, automated feedback, personalized goal setting, reminders, education materials, and data visualization. In addition, 8 objective secondary outcomes were meta-analyzed, which showed that the interventions had significant lowering effects on fasting blood glucose levels and waist circumference. A total of 42 secondary outcomes were narratively synthesized, and mixed results were found. Conclusions Mobile app-assisted self-care interventions can be effective tools for managing blood glucose and blood pressure, likely because their use facilitates remote management of health issues and data, provision of personalized self-care recommendations, patient–care provider communication, and decision making. More studies are required to further determine which combinations of intervention features are most effective in improving the control of the diseases. Moreover, evidence regarding the effects of these interventions on the behavioral, knowledge, and psychosocial outcomes of patients is still scarce, which warrants further examination.

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Effectiveness of Mobile App-Assisted Self-Care Interventions for Improving Patient Outcomes in Type 2 Diabetes and/or Hypertension: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.15779 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Kaifeng Liu ◽

Zhenzhen Xie ◽

Calvin Kalun Or

Keyword(s):

Blood Pressure ◽

Type 2 Diabetes ◽

Blood Glucose ◽

Patient Outcomes ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Self Care ◽

Mobile App ◽

Randomized Controlled ◽

Secondary Outcomes

BACKGROUND Mobile app-assisted self-care interventions are emerging promising tools to support self-care of patients with chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and hypertension. The effectiveness of such interventions requires further exploration for more supporting evidence. OBJECTIVE A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were conducted to examine the effectiveness of mobile app-assisted self-care interventions developed for type 2 diabetes and/or hypertension in improving patient outcomes. METHODS We followed the Cochrane Collaboration guidelines and searched MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, and CINAHL Plus for relevant studies published between January 2007 and January 2019. Primary outcomes included changes in hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels, systolic blood pressure (SBP), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP). Changes in other clinical-, behavioral-, knowledge-, and psychosocial-related outcomes were included as secondary outcomes. Primary outcomes and objective secondary outcomes that were reported in at least two trials were meta-analyzed; otherwise, a narrative synthesis was used for data analysis. RESULTS A total of 27 trials were identified and analyzed. For primary outcomes, the use of mobile app-assisted self-care interventions was associated with significant reductions in HbA1c levels (standardized mean difference [SMD] −0.44, 95% CI −0.59 to −0.29; P<.001), SBP (SMD −0.17, 95% CI −0.31 to −0.03, P=.02), and DBP (SMD −0.17, 95% CI −0.30 to −0.03, P=.02). Subgroup analyses for primary outcomes showed that several intervention features were supportive of self-management, including blood glucose, blood pressure, and medication monitoring, communication with health care providers, automated feedback, personalized goal setting, reminders, education materials, and data visualization. In addition, 8 objective secondary outcomes were meta-analyzed, which showed that the interventions had significant lowering effects on fasting blood glucose levels and waist circumference. A total of 42 secondary outcomes were narratively synthesized, and mixed results were found. CONCLUSIONS Mobile app-assisted self-care interventions can be effective tools for managing blood glucose and blood pressure, likely because their use facilitates remote management of health issues and data, provision of personalized self-care recommendations, patient–care provider communication, and decision making. More studies are required to further determine which combinations of intervention features are most effective in improving the control of the diseases. Moreover, evidence regarding the effects of these interventions on the behavioral, knowledge, and psychosocial outcomes of patients is still scarce, which warrants further examination.

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Correction: Effectiveness of Mobile App-Assisted Self-Care Interventions for Improving Patient Outcomes in Type 2 Diabetes and/or Hypertension: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.23600 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Kaifeng Liu ◽

Zhenzhen Xie ◽

Calvin Kalun Or

Keyword(s):

Blood Pressure ◽

Type 2 Diabetes ◽

Blood Glucose ◽

Patient Outcomes ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Self Care ◽

Mobile App ◽

Randomized Controlled ◽

Secondary Outcomes

UNSTRUCTURED Mobile app-assisted self-care interventions are emerging promising tools to support self-care of patients with chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and hypertension. The effectiveness of such interventions requires further exploration for more supporting evidence. A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were conducted to examine the effectiveness of mobile app-assisted self-care interventions developed for type 2 diabetes and/or hypertension in improving patient outcomes. We followed the Cochrane Collaboration guidelines and searched MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, and CINAHL Plus for relevant studies published between January 2007 and January 2019. Primary outcomes included changes in hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels, systolic blood pressure (SBP), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP). Changes in other clinical-, behavioral-, knowledge-, and psychosocial-related outcomes were included as secondary outcomes. Primary outcomes and objective secondary outcomes that were reported in at least two trials were meta-analyzed; otherwise, a narrative synthesis was used for data analysis. A total of 27 trials were identified and analyzed. For primary outcomes, the use of mobile app-assisted self-care interventions was associated with significant reductions in HbA1c levels (standardized mean difference [SMD] −0.44, 95% CI −0.59 to −0.29; P<.001), SBP (SMD −0.17, 95% CI −0.31 to −0.03, P=.02), and DBP (SMD −0.17, 95% CI −0.30 to −0.03, P=.02). Subgroup analyses for primary outcomes showed that several intervention features were supportive of self-management, including blood glucose, blood pressure, and medication monitoring, communication with health care providers, automated feedback, personalized goal setting, reminders, education materials, and data visualization. In addition, 8 objective secondary outcomes were meta-analyzed, which showed that the interventions had significant lowering effects on fasting blood glucose levels and waist circumference. A total of 42 secondary outcomes were narratively synthesized, and mixed results were found. Mobile app-assisted self-care interventions can be effective tools for managing blood glucose and blood pressure, likely because their use facilitates remote management of health issues and data, provision of personalized self-care recommendations, patient–care provider communication, and decision making. More studies are required to further determine which combinations of intervention features are most effective in improving the control of the diseases. Moreover, evidence regarding the effects of these interventions on the behavioral, knowledge, and psychosocial outcomes of patients is still scarce, which warrants further examination.

Download Full-text

Effectiveness of Mobile App-Assisted Self-Care Interventions for Improving Patient Outcomes in Type 2 Diabetes and/or Hypertension: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.23603 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Kaifeng Liu ◽

Zhenzhen Xie ◽

Calvin Kalun Or

Keyword(s):

Blood Pressure ◽

Type 2 Diabetes ◽

Blood Glucose ◽

Patient Outcomes ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Self Care ◽

Mobile App ◽

Randomized Controlled ◽

Secondary Outcomes

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Correction: Effectiveness of Mobile App-Assisted Self-Care Interventions for Improving Patient Outcomes in Type 2 Diabetes and/or Hypertension: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

JMIR mhealth and uhealth ◽

10.2196/23600 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (8) ◽

pp. e23600

Author(s):

Kaifeng Liu ◽

Zhenzhen Xie ◽

Calvin Kalun Or

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Type 2 Diabetes ◽

Randomized Controlled Trials ◽

Patient Outcomes ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Self Care ◽

Mobile App ◽

Controlled Trials ◽

Randomized Controlled

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Cardiovascular safety and efficacy of metformin-SGLT2i versus metformin-sulfonylureas in type 2 diabetes: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-020-80603-8 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Desye Gebrie ◽

Desalegn Getnet ◽

Tsegahun Manyazewal

Keyword(s):

Blood Pressure ◽

Type 2 Diabetes ◽

Combination Therapy ◽

Adverse Events ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Controlled Trials ◽

Safety And Efficacy ◽

Randomized Controlled ◽

Sodium Glucose Cotransporter

AbstractDiabetes is a serious threat to global health and among the top 10 causes of death, with nearly half a billion people living with it worldwide. Treating patients with diabetes tend to become more challenging due to the progressive nature of the disease. The role and benefits of combination therapies for the management of type 2 diabetes are well-documented, while the comparative safety and efficacy among the different combination options have not been elucidated. We aimed to systematically synthesize the evidence on the comparative cardiovascular safety and efficacy of combination therapy with metformin-sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors versus metformin-sulfonylureas in patients with type 2 diabetes. We searched MEDLINE-PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and ClinicalTrials.gov up to 15 August 2019 without restriction in the year of publication. We included randomized controlled trials of patients with type 2 diabetes who were on metformin-sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors or metformin-sulphonylureas combination therapy at least for a year. The primary endpoints were all-cause mortality and serious adverse events, and the secondary endpoints were cardiovascular mortality, non-fatal myocardial infarction, non-fatal stroke, hypoglycemia, and changes in glycated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), body weight, fasting plasma glucose, blood pressure, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. We used a random-effects meta-analysis model to estimate mean differences for continuous outcomes and risk ratio for dichotomous outcomes. We followed PICOS description model for defining eligibility and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols (PRISMA-P) 2015 guidelines for reporting results. Of 3,190 citations, we included nine trials involving 10,974 participants. The pooled analysis showed no significant difference in all-cause mortality (risk ration [RR] = 0.93, 95% CI [0.52, 1.67]), serious adverse events (RR = 0.96, 95% CI [0.79, 1.17]) and adverse events (RR = 1.00, 95% CI [0.99, 1.02]) between the two, but in hypoglycemia (RR = 0.13, 95% CI [0.10, 0.17], P < 0.001). Participants taking metformin-sodium glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors showed a significantly greater reduction in HbA1c (mean difference [MD] = − 0.10%, 95% CI [− 0.17, − 0.03], body weight (MD = − 4.57 kg, 95% CI [− 4.74, − 4.39], systolic blood pressure (MD = − 4.77 mmHg, 95% CI [− 5.39, − 4.16]), diastolic blood pressure (MD = − 2.07 mmHg, 95% CI [− 2.74, − 1.40], and fasting plasma glucose (MD = − 0.55 mmol/L, 95% CI [− 0.69, − 0.41]), p < 0.001. Combination therapy of metformin and sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors is a safe and efficacious alternative to combination therapy of metformin and sulphonylureas for patients with type 2 diabetes who are at risk of cardiovascular comorbidity. However, there remains a need for additional long-term randomized controlled trials as available studies are very limited and heterogeneous.

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