OBJECTIVES: The use of mobile health (mHealth) applications has been shown to reduce the burden of diabetes self-management, leading to improved glycemic control and in turn less complications. The aim of this real-world data analysis was to investigate the impact of using blood glucose (BG) meters connected to a mHealth app (mySugr®), on glycemic outcomes and costs for people with type 2 diabetes (T2D).

METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis, including 267 people with T2D in Poland, who used BG (Accu-Chek®) meters connected to the mySugr® app, between January 2018 and November 2022. BG measurements within five 30-day blocks were performed and only people with ≥2 logs on ≥14 days per block were included. Subsequently, the impact on estimated HbA1c (eHbA1c) was calculated 4 months after connecting the BG meters to the mobile app. By linking the observed eHbA1c change to the annual incidence rates of diabetes-related complications, the resulting decrease in complication rates and healthcare cost savings (public payer perspective, direct medical costs) were modeled for a population of 500,000 T2D people.

RESULTS: After 4 months of using the mySugr® app connected to BG meters, a statistically significant improvement in eHbA1c was observed for highly engaged users with T2D (-0.26%; p<0.001; 95% CI [-0.366, -0.161]) in Poland. Furthermore, this change in eHba1c was estimated to be associated with an annual decrease of 6% of diabetes-related complications, resulting in an annual healthcare cost saving of 91.7 million PLN for a population of 500,000 people with T2D in Poland.

CONCLUSIONS: When using a BG meter connected with the mySugr® app, a statistically significant improvement of glycemic outcomes over a 120-day period for people with T2D in Poland was observed, resulting in a decrease in complication rates and healthcare expenses.