Evidence Reviews Now Available

Selected Key Messages:

Although hundreds of apps for diabetes self-management are commercially available, we only identified health outcomes studies on 11 apps.
Of the 11 apps, studies showed only 5 were associated with clinically significant improvements in HbA1c, an important clinical test for monitoring diabetes. (For Type 1 diabetes- Glucose Buddy, Diabeo Telesage; For Type 2 diabetes- Blue Star, WellTang, Gather Health)
None of the studies showed patient improvements in quality of life, blood pressure, weight, or body mass index. More rigorous and longer-term research studies could determine whether apps help people manage their diabetes and reduce complications.
Studies had methodological issues: they were short (2-12 months); inconsistent in reporting of randomization, allocation, masking, and drop-out analysis; and often used co-interventions that hindered interpretation of results. None of the included studies are considered to be high quality.