Journal Article

Text message reminders for adolescents with poorly controlled type 1 diabetes: A randomized controlled trial

Ibrahim, Nour, Treluyer, Jean-Marc, Briand, Nelly, Beltrand, Jacques, Polak, Michel, Godot, Cécile

2021

Overview

Among adolescents with type 1 diabetes, some experience great difficulties with treatment adherence, putting them at high risk of complications. We assessed the effect of text messaging (Short Messaging Service [SMS]) on glycemic control. A two-arm open label randomized controlled trial enrolled adolescents with type 1 diabetes aged 12-21 years with baseline HbA1c ≥ 69 mmol/mol (8.5%). The intervention group received daily SMS reminders at self-selected times about insulin injections while the control group received standard of care. The patients allocated to the control group were not aware of the intervention. 92 patients were randomized, 45 in the SMS arm and 47 in the control arm. After 6 months, median HbA1c level was significantly lower in the intervention arm: 73 mmol/mol (8.8%) in the SMS arm and 83 mmol/mol (9.7%) in the control arm in the intent-to-treat analysis (P = 0.03) but no longer in the per protocol analysis (P = 0.65). When we consider the proportions of patients whose HbA1c level decreased by at least 1% between baseline and 6 months, we find a significant difference among patients whose baseline HbA1c was ≥ 80 mmol/mol (9.5%) (n = 56): 60% in the SMS arm and 30.6% in the control arm had lowered their HbA1c level (P = 0.03) in the intent-to-treat analysis but not in the per-protocol analysis (P = 0.50). Patients in the SMS arm reported high satisfaction with the intervention. While there is a trend to lower HbA1c in the intervention group, no firm conclusions can yet be drawn. Further studies are needed to address methodological issues as we believe these interventions can support behavior change among adolescents with poorly controlled type 1 diabetes. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02230137.

• Publisher: Public Library of Science,Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subject: Biology and life sciences / Care and treatment / Cellular telephones / Consent / Data collection / Demographic aspects / Diabetes / Diabetes mellitus / Diabetes mellitus (insulin dependent) / Electronic health records / Electronic medical records / Endocrinology / Engineering and Technology / Glucose / Gynecology / Health aspects / Health risks / Hemoglobin / Hospitals / Insulin / Intervention / Medical records / Medicine and health sciences / Patient compliance / Patient satisfaction / Patients / Pediatrics / People and Places / Quality of life / Research and Analysis Methods / Short message service / Teenagers / Text messaging / Type 1 diabetes / Young adults / Youth