The new study, published last week in the Cochrane Library, reveals that while consumers have a slew of apps and online resources to manage the disease, these kinds of tools bring little improvement to blood pressure, weight or other issues, and offer little help to change behaviors, researchers said.
University College London researchers reviewed data from 16 trials involving a total of 3,578 people with type 2 diabetes who used computers or mobile phones as part of diabetes self-management interventions for between one and 12 months.
Though there were significant benefits for controlling blood sugar levels, they tapered off after six months. Evidence also suggests that while some of the tools, including apps, online peer support, glucose indicators and goal setting, did help provide better understanding of the disease, they didn’t do much to promote positive changes in diet and fitness.
"Effective self-management is a complex task that may require changes to many aspects of people’s lives," lead researcher Kingshuk Pal said in a press release. "Any intervention to help that process needs to support sustained behavior change in different areas like eating habits, physical activity or taking medication regularly and provide emotional support."
Access the study: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD008776.pub2/abstract
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