Effectiveness of Mobile Web Application Promoting Healthy Behaviors among Adults with Prediabetes in Muang District, Phitsanulok Province, Thailand: A Randomized Controlled Trial Study (Preprint)

BACKGROUND In Thailand, the mobile web application for diabetes prevention has been limited to conduct the effects of mobile web applications on improving healthy behaviors particularly among adults with prediabetes in urban areas. However, there have been so far no such a study for collecting and analyzing data for evaluate their achievement of any application for diabetes preventive measures in Thailand. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to examine the effects of a designed mobile web application on changes in healthy behaviors and biochemical indexes of diabetes. METHODS From April 1 to September 30, 2021, a randomized controlled trial study was conducted in a total of 199 volunteers with prediabetes (aged 30 to 59 years) recruited from two subdistrict health-promoting hospitals in Muang District, Phitsanulok Province, Thailand. Prediabetic patients were randomly assigned to the intervention group (n=124) who received a 6-month of the DM winner application and the control group (n=75) who received the information on diabetes prevention. Both groups were assessed for health behaviors questionnaire, anthropometry, and biochemical parameters at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months and compared by a two-way repeated-measures ANOVA analysis. RESULTS The results showed that there was no significant difference in physical activity between groups. However, significant differences in time effects (p=0.001) were found. The intervention group showed a significant increase in physical activity at 6 months compared to their baseline, but the control group did not. The frequent intake of high-fat food (p=0.042), fast foods (p<0.001) and soft drink (p=0.010) also significantly differed between groups. Although there were no significant differences between groups in terms of anthropometric parameters, the intervention group showed significantly reduced fasting blood sugar (FBS) (p=0.035) and significantly decreased total cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) when compared to the control group. CONCLUSIONS The DM winner application shows promoting healthy behaviors of adults with prediabetes in urban areas. Additionally, almost all users feel very satisfaction for applications. The DM winner application can be used as an effective tool to promote and monitor healthy behaviors in order to prevent the risk of diabetes in urban areas. CLINICALTRIAL Thai Clinical Trials Registry (TCTR) number TCTR20240716006; https://www.thaiclinicaltrials.org/show/TCTR20240716006.