Glycemic Control Outcome of Family Dyad-Focused Diabetes Interventions—A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background/Objectives: Family dyad-focused support plays an important role in health outcomes and has been incorporated in diabetes interventions to enhance diabetes self-management. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to examine the pooled efficacy of dyad-focused diabetes interventions on glycemic control for people with Type 2 diabetes (T2D). Methods: The PRISMA was used to guide the study. Four databases (PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, and Scopus) were searched from inception through 18 December 2025 to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that tested glycemic control (A1C) of family-based diabetes interventions for people with T2D. Controlled vocabulary and key terms included “Diabetes, Mellitus, Type 2,” “type 2 diabetes,” “self-management,” “self-care,” “spouses,” “dyad,” “caregiver,” and “partner support”. Studies were excluded if they were not RCTs, contained peer-support dyads, lacked family/friend dyads, or did not measure glycemic control. Results: Nineteen eligible RCTs were included in this meta-analysis. Short-term efficacy (3–6 months) was reported in 17 studies with a total of 863 dyads; long-term efficacy (9–12+ months) was reported in 9 studies with a total of 707 dyads. Compared to the control groups, dyad-focused interventions showed a statistically significant reduction in A1C in both short-term (−0.50; 95% CI −0.72, −0.28) and long-term (−0.52; 95% CI −0.77, −0.27) measurement points (p < 0.001). The meta-analyses showed low or moderate detectable heterogeneity (I2 = 38%, 45%). The funnel plot suggested no obvious evidence of publication bias. Conclusions: Meta-analysis provided evidence on the efficacy of family dyad-focused diabetes intervention on improving glycemic control. Future large RCTs are warranted to explore innovative strategies to better incorporate family/friend dyad support in diabetes self-management.