Research: Diabetes patients with poor health more likely to use connected health devices

Kantar Research chart

Patients with diabetes who are in poor health — including those who experience more frequent episodes of hypoglycemia and less control over their blood sugar levels — are more likely to use web-connected glucose monitors than patients who have better control of their disease, according to Kantar Health.

The research firm’s findings suggest that one-quarter of diabetic patients who use web-connected glucose monitors have hypoglycemia episodes severe enough to need assistance from another person at least once a month, compared with 13 percent of patients who are not aware of these systems. Only 20 percent of diabetes patients using web-connected glucose monitors say they never have this level of hypoglycemia, versus 42 percent of those not aware of the systems. Although both groups of patients are testing their glucose with the same frequency, patients who are not aware of web-connected glucose meters are more likely to have HbA1c ranges of less than 7 percent, which is the level at which diabetes is considered controlled, than those using web-connected monitors.

Patients who are not aware of web-connected glucose meters are more likely to have HbA1c ranges of less than 7 percent.“Patients who use web-connected glucose meters are generally in worse health and have worse habits, including being more likely to drink alcohol and smoke, than patients who are not aware of these devices,” Brian Mondry, Global Head of Digital Innovation at Kantar Health, said in a statement. “These lifestyle habits, combined with lack of control over their blood sugar levels, can lead to complications for diabetes patients.”

Mondry went on to speculate about the possibility that patients with greater risk levels may have been advised to use web-connected devices by their physicians.

“Being connected to a device that lets them more closely monitor their glucose levels can alert both patients and doctors to any dangerous trends,” he added.

Kantar’s analysis is based on data from the National Health and Wellness Survey (NHWS), conducted March to October 2015, among 97,700 American adults.