Self-management among type 2 diabetes patients via the WeChat application: A systematic review and meta-analysis

The incidence of diabetes has been rising worldwide and is expected to increase to affect 591.9 million people by 2035 in China. Strict control of blood glucose can significantly reduce the risk of diabetic complications, but traditional interventions lack continuity, timeliness and teleonomy. The development of mobile health management has become a hot topic, as a very popular app in China, WeChat platform, has a large number of users every day. Many studies show the health management of patients with diabetes through WeChat can achieve the ideal effect. This study aims to evaluate the application of WeChat based on clinical research data, provide clinical evidence for medical staff and promote the self-management of patients with diabetes.

The PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, CNKI and Wanfang database were searched to identify related reports that were published up to 9 March 2020. The quality of included studies was assessed by Cochrane Collaboration risk assessment tool. Measures of interest were mean difference (MD) and 95% confidence interval (CI). Random-effect model was used according to the absence or presence of significant heterogeneity. Heterogeneity among trials was evaluated by I² test. Publication bias was assessed by funnel plots.

Thirty-eight articles involved 2,709 controls and 2,709 patients who used WeChat were identified. Relative to the traditional group, WeChat group had a lower level in fasting plasma glucose (FPG in mmol/L; MD: 1.36, 95% CI 1.10-1.62, P < .00001), so did 2hPG (MD: 1.91, 95% CI 1.48-2.35, P < .00001) and HbA1C (MD: 1.07, 95% CI 0.86-1.27, P < .00001). Self-efficacy scale improved significantly, including diet score (MD: -1.31, 95% CI -1.77 to -0.86, P < .00001), exercise score (MD: -1.92, 95% CI -2.44 to -1.40, P < .00001), medication taking score (MD: -1.45, 95% CI: -1.94 to -0.97, P < .00001), monitoring of blood glucose score (MD: -1.17, 95% CI -1.83--0.51, P = .0005) and foot care score (MD: -1.71, 95% CI -2.08 to -1.34, P < .00001). Patients' understanding of the disease and satisfaction with follow-up increased significantly, whereas the incidence of adverse reactions and complications decreased.

WeChat follow-up appears to be helpful to improve the level of blood glucose and self-management, reduce the incidence of adverse reactions and complications, and improve the satisfaction rate of patients with type 2 diabetes. It should be noted that this meta-analysis has limitations, such as small sample sizes and the low quality of included literature, as well as the lack of research in Western countries. Therefore, more high-quality studies with larger samples are needed in the future to verify our results.