The effect of telemonitoring on quality of life in people with insulin-treated type 2 diabetes: A secondary analysis of a randomised controlled trial.

AIMS: Telemonitoring in type 2 diabetes (T2D) care has demonstrated positive trends in terms of glycaemic control. However, evidence regarding its impact on patient-reported outcomes, such as general and diabetes-specific quality of life (QoL), remains inconclusive. In particular, the effect of telemonitoring in people with insulin-treated T2D is underexplored. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of telemonitoring on general and diabetes-specific QoL compared with usual care in people with insulin-treated T2D. METHODS: Participants were randomised (1:1) to telemonitoring or usual care for 3 months. The primary outcomes were changes in the Short Form-12 Health Survey (SF-12) and the DAWN2 Impact of Diabetes Profile (DIDP). Telemonitoring included a continuous glucose monitor (CGM), a connected insulin pen, and an activity tracker. Data were monitored by hospital staff, who also provided regular telephone support. Usual care comprised a blinded connected insulin pen and a blinded CGM during the first and final 20 days, but their data were not monitored. ANCOVA compared groups for normally distributed data, with baseline scores as covariates. The Mann-Whitney U test was applied for non-normally distributed outcomes. RESULTS: A total of 331 participants were included (telemonitoring: n = 166; usual care: n = 165). No significant between-group differences were found in SF-12 scores for neither the physical (p = 0.102) nor mental component summary score (p = 0.566). The telemonitoring group showed a statistically significant improvement in DIDP compared with usual care (p = 0.015). CONCLUSIONS: Telemonitoring had no effect on general QoL but led to a statistically significant improvement in diabetes-specific QoL.