Integrating Fitbit Wearable Devices into Diabetes Care Leads to Significant Improvements in Blood Glucose and HbA1C, Finds Health2Sync Clinical Study in Taiwan

PR86596

TOKYO, Nov. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

-Wearing Fitbit devices with Health2Sync glucose control app clinically proven

to help both users and healthcare providers to control and better manage the

symptoms of Type 2 diabetes

-Results from the study in Taiwan revealed an improvement in patients' health

conditions, with participants recording higher levels of physical activity,

reduced HbA1C, fasting blood glucose and LDL-C, and higher blood glucose

measurement frequency

-The Health2Sync Patient Management Platform allows healthcare providers to

seamlessly monitor patients' information and provide remote consultative advice

where necessary

Health2Sync, the number one diabetes management app in Taiwan and Japan, today

announced the results of their clinical study in Taiwan, demonstrating that

combining Fitbit wearable devices with their Health2Sync Patient Management

Platform can help users control and better manage the symptoms of Type 2

diabetes mellitus (T2DM). In the study[1], conducted with four of Taiwan's

leading diabetes clinics, participants recorded significant average

improvements in key indicators, such as reduced HbA1C, fasting blood glucose  

and LDL-C, and higher blood glucose measurement frequency -- a valuable proof

of concept for using Fitbit wearables with diabetes care protocols and solutions.

https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1333383/Fitbit_Inspire_HR.jpg 

Voluntarily connecting their Fitbit Inspire HR with the Health2Sync App enabled

study participants to let their doctors seamlessly monitor their information on

the Health2Sync Patient Management Platform and provide remote consultative

advice where necessary.

The study found:

-Average glycated haemoglobin (HbA1C) decreased 0.33%, while patients who did

moderate to high-intensity activity duration of at least 150 mins per week, saw

their average HbA1C[2] decrease 0.66%

-Average fasting blood glucose (BG) decreased 10.92 mg/dL

-Average low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) decreased 11.55 mg/dL

-Weight reduction of up to 2 kilograms among some patients

-Increased frequency in moderate to high intensity activity to 7.03 times a

week among some patients

Conducted over a three-month period ending in July 2020 in conjunction with the

Neng-Chun Diabetes Clinic, Da-Ya Chang-An Clinic, Yier Clinic and Banqiao

Da-Jun Clinic, the study, with patient consent, lets the patients' doctors

track the progress and lifestyle changes of 95 participants with T2DM. Prior to

the commencement of the study, doctors at the four clinics established

benchmarks for all participating patients based on blood glucose tests at the

start of the trial, then on a self-monitored weekly basis throughout the study period.

Each participant was given a Fitbit Inspire

HR[https://www.fitbit.com/tw/inspire] and the participants voluntarily agreed

to connect their Fitbit wearable data with the Health2Sync diabetes management

app to track their progress throughout the program. Physical activity data

generated from each person's Fitbit device was integrated into the Health2Sync

app, which housed other health metrics such as patients' HbA1c, BG and

cholesterol levels. This let doctors seamlessly monitor patients' information

on the Health2Sync Patient Management Platform and provide remote consultative

advice where necessary.

Dr. Kuo-Liang Lu of Da-Ya Chang-An Clinic in Taiwan, said: "The results speak

for themselves. We saw a reduction in some of our patients' weight by an

average of two kilograms and fasting BG levels of study participants from Da-Ya

Chang-An clinic decreased 11.10 mg/dL within 3 months[3], leading to

significant health improvements."

Dr. Neng-Chu Yu of Neng-Chun Diabetes Clinic said: "Type 2 diabetes, with the

right lifestyle changes – medication adherence, increased activity, and better

diet – can lead to major improvements in control of blood glucose levels. The

integration of Fitbit data with Health2Sync let me easily view my patients'

activities and self-monitored data, enabling me to make necessary suggestions

and give guidance to help patients for further improvement."

Diabetes is a chronic condition that, if not managed, can lead to health

complications like blindness, kidney failure, heart attacks, stroke and lower

limb amputation.[4] It remains the second highest cause in premature mortality,

after cancer, among major non-communicable diseases in Taiwan[5] and its

prevalence has posed economic burdens such as increased personal and healthcare

spending and loss of work productivity.[6]

A holistic approach to managing T2DM requires lifestyle changes, which includes

medication adherence, exercise and proper diet. The integration with Fitbit

wearable devices and activity data is key to helping to promote healthier

behaviours and improve participants' health outcomes. Participants received

reminders for weekly exercises via their Health2Sync App, which promoted an

increased frequency in moderate to high intensity activity at 7.03 times a

week. The increased levels of activity corresponded with an improvement in

patients' health conditions.

"We are thrilled to see such optimistic results in the clinical study. We

believe that innovations in Fitbit wearable devices and Fitbit health solutions

have a major role to play in the global effort against diabetes – whether it is

in reducing the onset of diabetes, or helping patients to better manage their

condition – and we look forward to further expanding on our partnership with

Fitbit," said Ed Deng, CEO at Health2Sync.

"The behavioural changes exhibited by study participants reinforces our belief

that Fitbit amplifies our intrinsic motivation to adopt healthier habits, which

can make all the difference when dealing with a condition like Type 2 diabetes

where lifestyle factors play such a big role," said Steve Morley, Vice

President of International Health Solutions & General Manager of Asia Pacific

at Fitbit. "Together with the seamless experience that Health2Sync provides for

patients and their health providers to track key indicators, they create a

powerful solution that makes it simpler and more convenient to manage

conditions like Type 2 diabetes."

In September last year, Fitbit and Health2Sync collaborated to allow the

integration of Fitbit's health, sleep and fitness wearable data with the

Health2Sync app (with user consent) to support Health2Sync's 520,000 users in

Japan and Taiwan to better manage their conditions, like Type 2 diabetes. The

new platform gives users who have a Fitbit account access to an in-app

dashboard that includes the option to agree to share their wearable data from

their Fitbit devices[7], including heart rate, sleep and physical activity,

alongside recent blood glucose readings from Health2Sync depicting if levels

fall within, above, or below the healthy range.

[1] The study was conducted on 95 participants, ages 18- 60.

[2] The term HbA1c refers to glycated haemoglobin. Diabetics with higher levels

of HbA1c face greater risk of developing diabetes-related complications.

[3] Average fasting blood glucose levels of study participants from Da-Ya

Chang-An clinic decreased 11.10 mg/dL compared to the study average of 10.92 mg/dL

[4] "Diabetes" World Health Organization, 2020.

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/diabetes .

[5] IC Chen., Yu NC. "A Decade of Diabetes Care in Taiwan." Diabetes research

and clinical practice. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2014.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25550058/ .

[6] Wong LC., Tsai CY., Chou HK., Tsai MT., Tsai WH., Chou.P., and Shen ST.

"Healthcare costs associated with progressive diabetic retinopathy among

National Health Insurance enrollees in Taiwan, 2000-2004." BMC Health Services

Research, May 26, 2010.

https://bmchealthservres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1472-6963-10-136 

[7] Includes Fitbit Sense, Fitbit Versa 3, Fitbit Charge 4, Fitbit Inspire 2, among others.

About Health2Sync

Health2Sync scales diabetes care by providing a digital engagement platform

that is comprised of a mobile App for diabetics, cloud-based analytics, and

cloud platform for healthcare providers. The smart analytics algorithms provide

users with personalized education and guidance based on their biometric and

behavior data captured. With the cloud platform, healthcare providers can

easily take control of patients' condition through the analyzed data.

Health2Sync is the largest diabetes management platform in Asia (excl. China)

and proven to help users improve their outcome.  Health2Sync has supported

partners including pharmaceuticals, private payers, and the public payor to

provide diabetics with innovative services.  In 2017, 2018 and 2019 Health2Sync

was selected as Top 10 Diabetes App globally by Healthline.

SOURCE: Health2Sync

Image Attachments Links:

   Link: http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=376655 

   Caption: Voluntarily connecting their Fitbit Inspire HR with the Health2Sync App enabled

study participants to let their doctors seamlessly monitor their information on

the Health2Sync Patient Management Platform and provide remote consultative

advice where necessary.