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Phone app may improve exercise adherence for patients with diabetes
A smartphone application that includes a learning algorithm for sending personalized text messages may help patients with diabetes stick with an exercise plan, according to findings published in Diabetes Care.
“Most patients with type 2 diabetes are sedentary despite the clear benefit of regular physical activity, including better glucose control and improvement in quality of life,” the researchers wrote. “Smartphones could potentially improve patient care by continual communication with patients and sensors that quantify patient behavior.”
Irit Hochberg
Irit Hochberg, MD, PhD, of Rambam Health Care Campus in Haifa, Israel, and colleagues evaluated 27 patients with type 2 diabetes who did not regularly exercise to determine the effect of a phone application on improving adherence to physical activity. Pedometers were installed on participants’ personal smartphones at recruitment.
Participants were randomly assigned to the control group (n = 7) or treatment group (n = 20), and all received text-message reminders to exercise one to seven times per week. The treatment group received personalized messages generated by an automatic learning algorithm that assessed the effect of previous messages and tailored the messages to each individual at the time they were given.
Compared with the control group, amount of activity and pace of walking over time improved in the treatment group. Among the treatment group, higher initial HbA1c levels and lower activity targets were associated with a reduction in HbA1c levels (P < .0001).
The control group reported that the text messages were ineffective for increasing physical activity, whereas the treatment group reported that the messages helped to increase (P = .01) and maintain (P = .07) physical activity.
“These results suggest that mobile phone application with a learning algorithm can improve adherence to exercise in patients with diabetes,” the researchers wrote. “Because a personalized learning algorithm is automated, it can be used in large populations to improve health and glycemic control.”
“Phone reminders to exercise are not ‘one size fits all,’ but should be personalized,” Hochberg told Endocrine Today. – by Amber Cox
For more information:
Irit Hochberg, MD, PhD, can be reached at i_hochberg@rambam.health.gov.il.
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.