Technological innovations to improve health outcome in type 2 diabetes mellitus: A randomized controlled study

Introduction: Diabetes Mellitus is a major chronic disease associated with many complications and high morbidity. The need for lifestyle modification and regular adherent treatment makes the management of the disease difficult. This study examines the scope of m-Health in the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus in terms of glycemic control. Methods: A randomized controlled study was performed among the patients attending the outpatient department of a tertiary care hospital in Mysuru city. A mobile application named DIAGURU, mainly focusing on lifestyle modification and medication management was used for a period of 6 months from April 2019 to September 2019 by 150 patients in the study group while another 150 participants served as controls. The change in glycosylated haemoglobin levels was assessed after six months. Results: The mean HbA1C levels at the starting of the study was found to be 7.36% +/- 1.04 in the study group and 7.84% +/- 1.33% in the control group. A repeat HbA1c test after six months showed a mean level of 7.10% +/- 0.96% among the participants who received the intervention and 7.97% +/- 1.37% among the control group. The values were showing a trend of reduction in the intervention group, with a median reduction HbA1c of -0.2% (-0.3% to -0.2%). Among the participants who did not receive our intervention, a median increase of 0.1% (0%-0.2%) in HbA1c was noticed. Mann Whitney U test was performed, and it showed a statistically significant association with a p value less than 0.001. Conclusion: From this study, we conclude that an intervention with a mobile application aimed at lifestyle modification and medication management in addition to regular medical treatment for type 2 diabetes mellitus patients resulted in a better glycemic control compared to a control group who did not receive the adjuvant intervention.