Standards of care for diabetes: what's new?

Effectiveness of Internet-Based Interventions on Glycemic Control in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes: Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Background

The popularity of internet as an area of research has grown manifold over the years. Given its rapid development and increasing coverage worldwide, internet-based interventions seem to offer a promising option to ameliorate huge burdens brought by type 2 diabetes mellitus. However, studies conducted by different researchers have provided contradictory results on the effect of internet-based interventions in glycemic control.

Objective

This meta-analysis aims to summarize currently available evidence and evaluate the overall impact of internet-based interventions on glycemic management of type 2 diabetic patients.

Methods

A systematic literature search was performed in PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Web of Science. Randomized controlled trials that used glycosylated hemoglobin values as the outcome measure of glycemic control were considered. Risk of bias and publication bias were evaluated.

Results

Of the 492 studies, 35 were included in meta-analysis, and results indicated that the weighted mean difference (WMD) between usual care and internet-based interventions at endpoint was –0.426% (95% CI –0.540 to –0.312; P<.001). Subgroup analyses revealed that intervention duration ≤3 months yielded optimal performance (WMD –0.51%; 95% CI –0.71 to –0.31; P<.001). Combined mobile and website interventions were substantially superior to solely Web-based and mobile-based interventions in glycemic control (combined WMD –0.77%, 95% CI –1.07 to –0.47; P<.001; Web only: WMD –0.48%; 95% CI –0.71 to –0.24, P<.001; mobile only WMD –0.31%, 95% CI –0.49 to –0.14; P<.001). Furthermore, the effect of interventions with automated feedbacks was similar to those with manual feedbacks, and studies with internet-based educational contents were more effective in glycemic control. The assessment revealed a low risk of bias.

Conclusions

In conclusion, utilization of internet-based intervention is beneficial for patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, and taking full advantage of this type of intervention may substantially reduce the incidence of complications and improve quality of life.

Trial Registration

International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO): CRD42017058032; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/display_record.php?RecordID=58032 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6yY7eQNHr)

Correlation between single nucleotide polymorphisms of the ACTA2 gene and coronary artery stenosis in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

This study aimed to analyze the correlation between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the actin, aortic smooth muscle (ACTA2) gene and coronary artery stenosis in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Eight SNPs from the promoter region of the ACTA2 gene were screened. Patients with T2DM (n=251) were divided into two groups, those with severe coronary stenosis (SCS⁺ group; n=168) and those without severe coronary stenosis (SCS⁻ group; n=83). Patients were also divided according to lesion branching into those whose lesions involved less than three branches (LCA⁻ group) and those whose lesions involved at least three branches (LCA⁺ group). The clinical and laboratory data of the patients were collected, and the genotyping of eight SNPs was conducted followed by statistical analysis. Of the eight SNPs, only the rs1324551 SNP was identified to be significantly different between the SCS⁺ and SCS⁻ groups (P<0.05). The frequency of the rs1324551 G allele and GG genotype in the SCS⁺ group was significantly higher than that of the SCS⁻ group (P=0.044 and P=0.001, respectively). No significant difference was observed between the LCA⁻ and LCA⁺ groups. Following the deduction of age, gender and traditional risk factors, the odds ratios of the GG genotype in additive and recessive models were 2.93 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.05–8.19; P=0.04] and 2.34 (95% CI, 1.09–5.02; P=0.03), respectively, and this relevancy was represented only in patients with low insulin levels. Age and smoking were also found to increase the risk of coronary artery lesions. In conclusion, the rs1324551 SNP in the promoter region of the ACTA2 gene was identified to be independently correlated with the degree of coronary artery stenosis in patients with T2DM and plasma insulin may inhibit coronary artery stenosis during the pathogenic process.

Features of mobile diabetes applications: review of the literature and analysis of current applications compared against evidence-based guidelines

BACKGROUND

Interest in mobile health (mHealth) applications for self-management of diabetes is growing. In July 2009, we found 60 diabetes applications on iTunes for iPhone; by February 2011 the number had increased by more than 400% to 260. Other mobile platforms reflect a similar trend. Despite the growth, research on both the design and the use of diabetes mHealth applications is scarce. Furthermore, the potential influence of social media on diabetes mHealth applications is largely unexplored.

OBJECTIVE

Our objective was to study the salient features of mobile applications for diabetes care, in contrast to clinical guideline recommendations for diabetes self-management. These clinical guidelines are published by health authorities or associations such as the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence in the United Kingdom and the American Diabetes Association.

METHODS

We searched online vendor markets (online stores for Apple iPhone, Google Android, BlackBerry, and Nokia Symbian), journal databases, and gray literature related to diabetes mobile applications. We included applications that featured a component for self-monitoring of blood glucose and excluded applications without English-language user interfaces, as well as those intended exclusively for health care professionals. We surveyed the following features: (1) self-monitoring: (1.1) blood glucose, (1.2) weight, (1.3) physical activity, (1.4) diet, (1.5) insulin and medication, and (1.6) blood pressure, (2) education, (3) disease-related alerts and reminders, (4) integration of social media functions, (5) disease-related data export and communication, and (6) synchronization with personal health record (PHR) systems or patient portals. We then contrasted the prevalence of these features with guideline recommendations.

RESULTS

The search resulted in 973 matches, of which 137 met the selection criteria. The four most prevalent features of the applications available on the online markets (n = 101) were (1) insulin and medication recording, 63 (62%), (2) data export and communication, 61 (60%), (3) diet recording, 47 (47%), and (4) weight management, 43 (43%). From the literature search (n = 26), the most prevalent features were (1) PHR or Web server synchronization, 18 (69%), (2) insulin and medication recording, 17 (65%), (3) diet recording, 17 (65%), and (4) data export and communication, 16 (62%). Interestingly, although clinical guidelines widely refer to the importance of education, this is missing from the top functionalities in both cases.

CONCLUSIONS

While a wide selection of mobile applications seems to be available for people with diabetes, this study shows there are obvious gaps between the evidence-based recommendations and the functionality used in study interventions or found in online markets. Current results confirm personalized education as an underrepresented feature in diabetes mobile applications. We found no studies evaluating social media concepts in diabetes self-management on mobile devices, and its potential remains largely unexplored.