Digital Twin in Managing Hypertension Among People With Type 2 Diabetes: 1-Year Randomized Controlled Trial

Digital twin (DT)-guided lifestyle changes induce type 2 diabetes (T2D) remission but effects on hypertension (HTN) in this population are unknown.

The purpose of this study was to assess effects of DT vs standard of care (SC) on blood pressure (BP), anti-HTN medication, HTN remission, and microalbuminuria in participants with T2D.

This is a secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial in India of 319 participants with T2D. Participants were randomized to DT group (N = 233), which used artificial intelligence-enabled DT technology, or SC group (N = 86). A Home Blood Pressure Monitoring system guided anti-HTN medication adjustments. BP, anti-HTN medications, HTN remission rates, and microalbuminuria were compared between groups.

Among the 319 participants, 44 in DT and 15 in SC group were on anti-HTN medications, totaling 59 (18.4%) participants. DT group achieved significant reductions in systolic blood pressure (-7.6 vs -3.2 mm Hg; P < 0.007) and diastolic blood pressure (-4.3 vs -2.2 mm Hg; P = 0.046) after 1 year compared with SC group. 68.2% of DT group remained off anti-HTN medications compared to none in SC group. Among participants with HTN, DT subgroup achieved higher rates of normotension (40.9% vs 6.7%; P = 0.0009) and HTN remission (50% vs 0%; P < 0.0001) than SC subgroup. DT group had a higher rate of achieving normoalbuminuria (92.4% vs 83.1%; P = 0.018) at 1 year compared with SC group.

Artificial intelligence -enabled DT technology is more effective than SC in reducing BP and anti-HTN medications and inducing HTN remission and normoalbuminuria in participants with HTN and T2D. (A Novel WholeBody Digital Twin Enabled Precision Treatment for Reversing Diabetes; CTRI/2020/08/027072).