Published in the journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, the study enlisted 502 people from 34 hospitals in China. They all received typical care, but the scientists split the participants into two groups. One group received six autogenerated texts per week (the motivational text group).
These messages focused on a variety of factors, including controlling glucose and blood pressure levels, lifestyle advice, and the importance of adhering to medication rules.
For example, one text read: “Afraid of testing blood glucose because it hurts? Try to test on the sides of your fingertips or rotate your fingers, which can help to minimize pain.”
The other group only received two texts per month (the control group), simply thanking them for taking part in the study. After 6 months of receiving the texts, blood sugar levels were notably lower in the motivational text group.
The participants’ average HbA1c levels for the past 2–3 months showed a decrease of 0.2% in the motivational text group and an increase of 0.1% in the control cohort.
Doctors advise that HbA1c levels should be under 7%. This is with the aim of reducing diabetes-related complications. A higher number of participants (69.3%) reached this target in the motivational text group than the control group (52.6%).
There was no difference between the two groups in terms systolic blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), or low density lipoprotein cholesterol.
(https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/326284#Controlling-vital-levels)
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