SAT-646 Do Diabetes and Hypertension Mobile Apps Overlap?

Abstract

Background: Mobile health apps have 3.7 billion downloads yearly. The interest in patient-generated data is increasing yearly. Diabetes and cardiovascular apps occupy a significant part of the eHealth space. However, diabetic patients could have both diabetes (DM) and hypertension (HTN), and hypertensive patients may have prediabetes or diabetes as well. Do these eHealth apps meet the needs of the patient with both diabetes and hypertension? Purpose: Do Diabetes apps ask questions about blood pressure control and do Hypertension apps ask questions about diabetes management? Methods: Using the search term “diabetes,” and similarly, using the search term “blood pressure” (BP), Google Play Store was accessed for two lists of the most downloaded, free DM and BP Android apps. Inclusion criteria: 1) downloads > 100,000, 2) free, 3) medication adherence (push notification), 4) FBS/HbA1c, 5) lipids. For the diabetes apps, we evaluated them for Diabetes Self-Management Education Support Guidelines (DSMES), in addition to renal and CV complications. For the BP apps, we evaluated them for BP, ACC/AHA guidelines, weight, BMI, Diet, Na+ intake, K+ intake, exercise log, alcohol intake, and medication log. Exclusion criteria: purely educational apps, no data on downloads or rankings. Results: 10 diabetes mobile apps in descending order were: 1) mySugr, 2) Onetouch Reveal, 3) Ontrack Diabetes, 4) Diabetes, 5) Health2Sync - Diabetes Care, 6) Diabetes Connect, 7) Glucose Buddy Diabetes Tracker, 8) Diabetes:M, 9) Blood Glucose Tracker, and 10) OneDrop Diabetes Management. We found 10/10 tracked FBS/HbA1c; 18.2%-81.8% had DSMES; 1/10 log entry of “heart palpitation;” 0/10 renal complications; 7/10 medication reminders. 10 blood pressure apps in descending order were: 1) BP (Szymon), 2) BP Watch, 3) BP Log My Diary, 4) BP Diary (openit.inc), 5) BP Log (bpresso.com), 6) BP Diary (FRUCT), 7) BloodPressureDB, 8) Cardio Journal, 9) BP (OrangeKit), 10) BP Diary (Health&Fitness Tracker). We found 10/10 BP logs; 2/10 ACC BP guidelines; 3/10 HbA1c/FBS; 1/10 lipid log; 0/10 diet, Na+ intake, K+ intake; 2/10 exercise log; 8/10 push notification for medication adherence. Discussion: eHealth apps emphasize the use of patient generated health data to manage chronic disease and cost containment. This small study shows that for the most popular, free diabetes and hypertension apps, few follow all the guidelines from the ADA or ACC/AHA. Conclusion: The Diabetes apps follow the DSMES guidelines more than the Hypertension apps follow the ACC/AHA guidelines. In the future, there is room for improvement for eHealth apps and the management of diabetes and comorbid conditions such as hypertension.