Effect of telemedicine on glycated haemoglobin in people with type 2 diabetes in the MENA region: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background
Telemedicine has recently become a more important platform for the delivery of health interventions such as blood glucose monitoring and a range of other health concerns.

Objectives
The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to examine the effect of different types of telemedicine compared to standard care on glycated haemoglobin (HbA1C) level and other glucose-related indicators for persons with diabetes in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

Material and methods
The following electronic databases were searched from 1990 to February 2022; MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus and the Cochrane Library. A total of six randomised controlled trials met the inclusion criteria and were included in the data for the meta-analysis.

Results
Six randomised controlled trials (n = 461 individuals) comparing telemedicine standard care in people with type 2 diabetes in the MENA region were included. The mean difference in HbA1c between the control and telemedicine groups was -0.52 (95% CI, -0.79, -0.25) (p < 0.001), showing better HbA1C scores in patients receiving telemedicine than those receiving standard care only. The study’s heterogeneity was quite low, with an I2 value of 1% (p = 0.55). The evidence surrounding the impacts of telemedicine on all categories of cholesterol was low and insignificant.

Conclusions
The evidence gathered in this systematic analysis shows that using telemedicine in comparison to standard care improves HbA1c levels in persons with type 2 diabetes in the MENA region.