JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Type 2 diabetes mellitus has serious health consequences, including blindness, amputation, and stroke. There is increasing evidence that type 2 diabetes may be effectively treated with a carbohydrate-reduced diet. Digital apps are increasingly used as an adjunct to traditional health care provisions to support behaviour change and remote self-management of long-term health conditions.

Objective:

Our objective was to evaluate the real-world 12-month outcomes of patients prescribed the Low Carb Program (LCP) digital health at a primary care NHS site, Norwood Surgery in Southport, United Kingdom. The Low Carb Program is a nutritionally focused, digitally delivered behaviour change intervention for glycemic control and weight loss for adults with prediabetes and type 2 diabetes.

Methods:

We evaluated the real-world, self-reported outcomes of patients referred to the Low Carb Program by doctors at an NHS GP surgery in Southport, United Kingdom. All of the NHS patients referred to the program were diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) or prediabetes and given the program at no cost (N=45; mean age 54.8, SD 13.2 years; 42% (19/45) women; mean glycated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) 56.7 mmol/mol (range 42.1mmol/mol - 96.7mmol/mol); mean body weight 89.4 kg (SD 13.8 kg).

Results:

Of the 100 people offered the program 45 participants enrolled, all of them (100%) activated their accounts and 37 (82.2%) individuals self-reported outcomes at 12-months. Of those who enrolled 45 (100%) patients completed at least 40% of the lessons, 32 (71.1%) individuals completed >9 out of 12 core lessons of the program. Glycemic control and weight loss improved, particularly for participants who completed >9 of the 12 core lessons in the program over 12-months; mean HbA1c went from 58.8 mmol/mol at baseline to 54.0 mmol/mol (4.78 mmol/mol, SD 4.60), t(31)=5.87, p<0.001) and reported an average 4.17% total body weight reduction with an average reduction of 3.85kg (SD 2.35), t(31)=9.27, p<0.001) at the 12-month follow up point.

Conclusions:

Though the data presented here has several limitations, the use of a digital app prescribed to adults with T2DM or prediabetes in a primary care setting supporting a transition to a low carbohydrate diet appears to show significant improvements in glycaemic control and weight loss. Further research to understand more about factors affecting engagement and further positive health implications would be valuable.