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Meta-Analysis
. 2023 Aug 12;23(1):855.
doi: 10.1186/s12913-023-09879-6.

The effectiveness of mobile application for monitoring diabetes mellitus and hypertension in the adult and elderly population: systematic review and meta-analysis

Emily de Souza Ferreira  1 , Fernanda de Aguiar Franco  2 , Marina Marilac Dos Santos Lara  3 , André Amaral Levcovitz  3 , Mateus Araújo Dias  4 , Tiago Ricardo Moreira  3 , Ary Henrique Morais de Oliveira  4 , Rosângela Minardi Mitre Cotta  2
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

The effectiveness of mobile application for monitoring diabetes mellitus and hypertension in the adult and elderly population: systematic review and meta-analysis

Emily de Souza Ferreira et al. BMC Health Serv Res. .

Abstract

Context: Arterial Hypertension (AH) and Diabetes Mellitus (DM) are diseases that are getting worse all over the world. Linked to this advance, is the growing digital health market with numerous mobile health applications, which aim to help patients and professionals in the proper management of chronic diseases. The aim of this study was to analyze, through a systematic review and meta-analysis, the effectiveness of using mobile health applications in monitoring AH and/or DM in the adult and elderly population.

Methods: The systematic review and meta-analysis was carried out in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Metanalyses guidelines and involved searching five databases - Medline/PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, Virtual Library in Health and Cochrane Library. The review included randomized and cohort clinical trials testing the effects of the intervention on changing biochemical parameters and clinical efficacy in people treated for AH and/or DM. The quality of the selected studies was assessed based on the evaluation criteria of the Joanna Briggs Institute tool. The random effects meta-analysis method was used to explain effect distribution between studies, by Stata® software (version 11.0) and publication bias was examined by visual inspection of graphs and Egger test.

Results: We included 26 studies in the systematic review and 17 in the meta-analysis. These studies were published between 2014 to 2022 in 14 countries. Were reported improvement in knowledge and self-management of AH and DM, social motivation with treatment and behavioral change, reduction in glycated hemoglobin values, fasting glucose and blood pressure, improvement in adherence to drug treatment, among others. The result of the meta-analysis showed that there is evidence that the use of mobile applications can help reduce glycated hemoglobin by 0.39% compared to the usual care group.

Conclusions: Monitoring and self-monitoring of behaviors and health care related to AH and DM in adults and the elderly through mobile applications, has clinically significant effectiveness in reducing glycated hemoglobin levels. Future studies should provide more evidence and recommendations for best practices and development of digital health interventions.

Trial registration: PROSPERO. International Prospective Registry of Systematic Reviews. CRD42022361928.

Keywords: Adult; Aged; Diabetes mellitus; Digital health; Hypertension; Mobile application; Systematic review.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flowchart of preferred report items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) of study selection
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Forest plot of the effects of mobile health apps on reducing HbA1c
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Funnel Chart. Weighted Mean Differences, Funnel Plot with 95% Confidence Limits
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Summary risk of bias for each study included in the meta-analysis
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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