Clinical Study Demonstrates Effectiveness for Type II Diabetes
Results of our peer-reviewed clinical study published today in the Journal of Medical Internet Research demonstrate the potential for lifestyle therapy, delivered as a digital therapeutic, to become a widely-accessible and affordable solution for treating individuals with type II diabetes.
Despite compelling evidence that lifestyle as medicine can effectively treat and often reverse chronic conditions like diabetes, there are no effective, prescribable solutions for physicians and their patients today.
In this 12-week, IRB-approved study, effectiveness in reducing HbA1c was comparable to that of commonly prescribed medications, and intensive lifestyle interventions delivered in-clinic.
“The results are encouraging because they demonstrate that lifestyle therapy can be scalable, widely-accessible and incorporated into treatment plans for chronic disease,” said Kevin Appelbaum, CEO of Better Therapeutics. “Better is building a portfolio of digital therapies physicians can prescribe to patients with chronic disease, filling a critical gap in existing treatment guidelines.”
“Today, we are seeing that non-drug solutions can be as effective as commonly prescribed drugs, with no harmful side effects. With one in every five dollars spent on prescription drugs directed at diabetes, non-drug solutions can also be dramatically more affordable,” said David Perry, Chairman of Better Therapeutics.
118 participants (mean age 50.7 years; 81.4% female; residing in 38 U.S. states) with type 2 diabetes (baseline HbA1c >6.5%) were enrolled. Mean change in HbA1c was -0.8%; and, for participants with a baseline HbA1c >7.0% who did not change medications mid-study, HbA1c change was -1.1%. Improvement in HbA1c was clinically meaningful (0.5% or more) in 58.8% of participants. Retention was 86.2% at 12-weeks, and average daily engagement was 4.3x. Greater glycemic control was observed with increased app engagement. The research article is freely available on the Internet here.
“I didn’t think I was able to do it at first. Two and a half months after starting, I went to the doctor and was taken off 3 medications and lowered my a1c levels from 7.0 to a 5.5,” said Moises, a study participant from Brooklyn, New York. Filling a Gap in Treatment Guidelines The American Diabetes Association recommends comprehensive diet and lifestyle changes as the first line treatment for diabetes; however, delivering intensive lifestyle therapy to patients remains challenging.
“Clinicians are hungry for ways to incorporate lifestyle therapies into treatment plans, and Better is poised to develop the delivery system to make it happen. If lifestyle therapy is the drug of choice, Better’s digital therapeutics may be the proverbial pill,” said Dr. Mark Berman, Better’s Head of Health.
The study was overseen and published by a globally-recognized team of physicians, researchers and medical experts including Dr. David Katz, Chief Science Officer, and Director of the Yale University Prevention Research Center. Click here to read the study.
