Presentation (CTI)

OBJECTIVES: Although guidelines recommend digital technologies in diabetes prevention, real-world evidence on self-care and healthcare app usage in Japan is limited. This study elucidated self-care and app utilization among individuals with prediabetes and evaluated its impact on annual days away from home using mobility log data.
METHODS: A web-based survey was conducted among individuals with prediabetes aged 30-74 years (fasting plasma glucose: 110 to <126 mg/dL; HbA1c: <6.5%) via the “dpointclub enquete (healthcare)” panel. For participants commuting five days a week on average, responses were linked with 365-day historical mobility log data to evaluate differences in annual days away from home by app usage (current vs. past/non-users).
RESULTS: Among 1,000 respondents, current healthcare app users accounted for 61.0%, with 61.6% finding apps helpful. Comparing current users with past/non-users (Fisher's exact test), current users showed significantly higher rates of self-care behaviors, including exercise habits and dietary management (all p<0.05). Routine tracking of weight, exercise, and diet was also significantly higher among current users (all p<0.001). Furthermore, in mobility log analysis (Mann-Whitney U test) restricted to 5-day commuting workers, current app users demonstrated a significantly higher number of annual days away from home than past/non-users (median: 327.0 vs. 306.5 days; p=0.027).
CONCLUSIONS: Healthcare apps effectively promote behavior modification and self-monitoring in individuals with prediabetes. Furthermore, within a population with identical commuting frequencies, current app users demonstrated significantly more annual days away from home, suggesting that app utilization may help create opportunities to increase physical activity levels on days off.