The glycemic control among patients with diabetes in India is very poor and better self-management is the key to improving glycemic levels. This study evaluates the effectiveness of an iPDM (integrated personalized self-management) to improve blood glucose (BG) levels.
We included 184 participants (Average = 45.41 years; 72.71% male) who had a minimum BG logging frequency of ≥2 BG logs/wk for ≥4 months and were using an iPDM consisting of the Accu-Chek® Active BG monitor with the Wellthy Care™ digital therapeutic. We analyzed average BG (ABG), Fasting BG (FBG), and Post-meal BG (PBG), at baseline (BG logged 1-3 days from the start of the program), month 1 (M1), and month 4 (M4), and change in estimated HbA1C (eA1C) based on ABG.
The average number of active days and BG logs by the participants were 66.62 days (95% CI: 60.83-72.4 days) and 93 logs (95% CI: 82-104 logs), respectively.
The BG values at baseline, M1 and M4 are summarized in table 1.
Based on the change in ABG (baseline-M4), the corresponding change in eA1C was 0.93% (7.22% to 6.29%).
| Baseline | M1 | M4 | Significance, Baseline Vs M4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABG(mg/dl) | 160.52 (±51.88) | 137.37 (±39.56) | 133.84 (±34.73) | P=0.0002 |
| FBG(mg/dl) | 140.45 (±45.92) | 121.98 (±25.96) | 117.68 (±21.37) | P=0.0004 |
| PBG(mg/dl) | 181.75 (±65.43) | 150.87 (±37.04) | 160.52 (±32.33) | P<0.0001 |
The significant drop in BG from baseline to M1 and further reduction at M4 indicate that iPDM along with digital therapeutics could be an effective tool for improving self-management thereby enabling better glycemic control in a resource constrained country like India.