Company announces study results demonstrating a 1.1% to 1.3% absolute reduction in A1C among people with diabetes (type 1 and type 2) using the One Drop | Mobile app.
NEW YORK, August 25, 2017 — One Drop today announced the results of a retrospective study of people with diabetes (type 1 and type 2) using the One Drop | Mobile diabetes management app, demonstrating a 1.1% to 1.3% absolute reduction in A1C in just 4 months. The results were published yesterday, August 24, 2017, in JMIR Diabetes.
The One Drop | Mobile app for iOS and Android is available for free in the App Store or Google Play Store. With One Drop | Mobile, users can manually and passively (via Apple HealthKit, Google Fit, and the One Drop | Chrome blood glucose meter) store, track, and share data. Users can schedule medication reminders, view statistics, set goals, track A1c and weight, get data-driven insights, provide and receive encouragement from other users, and get tips and advice to assist with diabetes management.
Using retrospective app-collected data, One Drop in collaboration with U.S. and non-U.S.-based scientists, assessed the A1c change of people using One Drop | Mobile. They also assessed the relationship between tracking self-care with the app and changes in A1c.
“We used real-world data to produce timely and relevant results,” said One Drop's VP of health and behavioral informations, Chandra Osborn, PhD, MPH. “More often than not, relevance and the gold standard randomized controlled trial are at odds. We didn't perform a RCT on outdated technology. We studied current technology and recent data, and found A1c improved among people using the One Drop app. We also linked that improvement to tracking self-care with the app.” Dr. Osborn added, “From study to publication in less than 3 months is unheard of. That's impossible to do with a RCT. When it comes to technology, relevance and speed are everything.”
As of June 7, 2017, 1288 people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes had entered two A1c values in the app (from 2 to 12 months apart), had their diabetes diagnoses verified with medications entered in the app, and had an average blood glucose consistent with their self-reported A1c values. Of the 367 people with type 1 diabetes and 921 people with type 2 diabetes, 35% were female, diagnosed with diabetes for a mean 9 years, and tracked an average 1700 self-care activities in the app between their two A1c values. Self-reported A1c can be as accurate as laboratory A1c, and we confirmed self-reported A1c was significantly associated with 90-day average blood glucose (rho=.73 to .75, P<.001) and consistent with cohort studies testing the relationship between blood glucose and laboratory A1c (1,2).
A1C Reduction, 4 Months| All Users | 1.1% (from 8.3% to 7.2%) |
| T1D | 0.9% (from 8.4% to 7.5%) |
| T2D | 1.3% (from 8.3% to 7.0%) |
In unadjusted and adjusted analyses, using One Drop | Mobile to record food was associated with greater A1c improvement (all models, P<.05) (2).
“Prior to this study, the scientific literature told us that diabetes mobile apps could potentially improve A1c by -0.45%,” said One Drop CEO and founder, Jeff Dachis. “I’m thrilled to present evidence that says otherwise. We are seeing dramatic improvements in A1c—often achieved with drugs, but rarely, if ever, seen with digital therapeutics and self-care interventions. And, in this case, we're doing it all at scale for less than a fraction of the cost of current standards of care: free.” At this year’s American Diabetes Association 77th Scientific Sessions, Evidation Health, Inc. reported results of a non-randomized study evaluating the One Drop | Mobile app and One Drop | Experts coaching service (3).
A1C Reduction, 3 Months| Group 1 | Completed the study | 0.90% |
| Group 2 | Active users; ≥1 msg to coach | 1.0% |
| Group 3 | Active users; ≥9% baseline A1c | 1.32% |
Leveraging data collected in-app, One Drop reported these users also reduced their carbohydrate intake by >10 grams per meal; increased physical activity by 25 minutes per week; decreased average blood glucose by 29 mg/dL (1.0% reduction in A1c); reduced glycemic variability; increased the percentage of in-range blood glucose values (4).
“With growing numbers of people developing diabetes and increasing options to treat the disease, self-management has become much more complex,” said Dr. David Marrero, director of the Center for Health Disparities Research at the University of Arizona and former President of the American Diabetes Association’s Healthcare and Education. “The One Drop | Mobile app illuminates the potential for mobile technology to assist persons with diabetes in both tracking the varied elements of their therapy and making more informed self-management decisions. Too many apps promise to improve health, but often don’t deliver. It’s great to see an app that finally does.”
Addendum to Press Release (May 12, 2022)
One Drop | Experts is now One Drop Premium. Premium members receive unlimited access to one-on-one health coaching, health predictions and trends, interactive educational content, and tools for tracking data and managing weight, diabetes, and blood pressure. Available in the award-winning One Drop app (iOS and Android).
Lindsay Sears, PhD, has replaced Chandra Osborn, serving as vice president of evidence generation at One Drop.
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1. Kumar S, Uppal J, Osborn CY, Heyman M, Juusola J. The accuracy of self-reported A1c among individuals with type 2 diabetes. 2017 Diabetes Abstract Book, vol 67 (Suppl 1A), Late Breaking.
2. Osborn CY, van Ginkel JR, Rodbard D, Heyman M, Marrero DG, Huddleston B, Dachis J, One Drop | Mobile: An Evaluation of Hemoglobin A1c Improvement Linked to App Engagement, JMIR Diabetes 2017;2(2):e21, http://diabetes.jmir.org/2017/2/e21/, doi: 10.2196/diabetes.8039.
3. Kumar S., et al. Impact of a diabetes mobile app with in-app coaching on glycemic control. Late-breaking peer-reviewed poster presentation at the 77th Annual Meeting of the American Diabetes Association; San Diego, CA, USA, June 2017.
4. Osborn C.Y., et al The One Drop mobile app with in-app coaching improves blood glucose and self-care. Peer-reviewed poster presentation at the 77th Annual Meeting of the American Diabetes Association; San Diego, CA, USA, June 2017.
*The American Diabetes Association recognizes this education service as meeting the National Standards for Diabetes Self-Management Education and Support.