Lim David, Meier Luca, Cadwell Katharina Mahadeva, Jacob Christine
FHNW, University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland, Olten, Switzerland.
Stanford University Graduate School of Business, Stanford, CA, USA.
Mhealth. 2025 Jan 17;11:8. doi: 10.21037/mhealth-24-57. eCollection 2025.
The rapid proliferation of mobile health (mHealth) apps for diabetes and prediabetes care has surged, driven by the growing interest and research in digital health interventions. However, as the number of these apps continues to expand, both patients and clinicians are finding it increasingly challenging to identify the most suitable app for their specific needs. This review sought to explore the current landscape of mHealth apps tailored for prediabetes within the DACH region (Germany, Austria and Switzerland), assessing their value to both patients and clinicians while examining how effectively they integrate into the wider healthcare ecosystem. Mobile apps were identified through a search of Google Play, the App Store, and the German Digital Health Applications directory (DiGa), using the keywords "diabetes", "prediabetes", and "blood glucose". From an initial pool of 76 apps, 8 met the inclusion criteria. These criteria specified that the apps must be available in the DACH region, specifically target prediabetes or its risk factors (such as obesity), have been updated within the past three years, and hold relevant certifications. The analysis revealed that while many applications provide valuable features such as food diaries, blood glucose monitoring, and compatibility with fitness apps, they frequently fall short in addressing the specific needs of prediabetes patients and supporting their entire patient journey. Additionally, clinician-facing features require significant enhancement to ensure seamless integration into existing workflows. Moreover, very few applications are supported by evidence-based research to substantiate their efficacy claims, highlighting a critical gap in the validation of these digital tools.
在对数字健康干预措施的兴趣和研究不断增加的推动下，用于糖尿病和糖尿病前期护理的移动健康（mHealth）应用程序迅速激增。然而，随着这些应用程序的数量持续增长，患者和临床医生都发现越来越难以找到最适合其特定需求的应用程序。本综述旨在探索为DACH地区（德国、奥地利和瑞士）的糖尿病前期量身定制的移动健康应用程序的现状，评估它们对患者和临床医生的价值，同时考察它们融入更广泛医疗保健生态系统的有效性。通过搜索谷歌应用商店、苹果应用商店和德国数字健康应用目录（DiGa），使用关键词“糖尿病”、“糖尿病前期”和“血糖”来识别移动应用程序。从最初的76个应用程序中，有8个符合纳入标准。这些标准规定，这些应用程序必须在DACH地区可用，专门针对糖尿病前期或其风险因素（如肥胖），在过去三年内进行了更新，并持有相关认证。分析表明，虽然许多应用程序提供了有价值的功能，如饮食日记、血糖监测以及与健身应用程序的兼容性，但它们在满足糖尿病前期患者的特定需求和支持他们的整个就医过程方面往往存在不足。此外，面向临床医生的功能需要大幅改进，以确保无缝集成到现有工作流程中。此外，很少有应用程序得到循证研究的支持来证实其疗效声明，这凸显了这些数字工具在验证方面的关键差距。
