Distal Technologies Impact, Telehealth and Mhealth, on Type 1 Diabetes Self-Management: A Narrative Review

Aim To evaluate the possible influences of new technologies on quality of life, disease and complications management (self-management) in children, teenagers and young adults with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). Research design Narrative review. Materials and methods We performed a research through scientific/medical database: PubMed, Cinahl, The Cochrane Library, Proquest Central, Phych INFO and UpToDate, applying the following filters: studies in humans, English language and most recent publication (from 2007 to 2017).Only those responding to the following selection criteria have been selected: 1. Quantitative studies. 2. Use of quantitative evaluation tools, monitoring quality of life and self-management. 3. Reference population of age group less than 65 years old. 4. Focus on usefulness, satisfaction and technologies influence on quality of life and disease self-management of T1DM subjects (outcomes). Results Among the selected articles, only 7 were fitting the inclusion criteria of this review. Overall, despite some studies did not show significant differences in quality of life, results showed an increased frequency in Self Monitoring Bloog Glucse (SMBG) and an improved metabolic control with the use of new technologies, especially in young teenagers with T1DM. Conclusion The different studies showed the potential advantages and the overall feasibility of using new apps on mobile technologies, that appear to be mostlyeffective in young teenagers affected by chronic disease, such as T1DM. These data suggest to identify new effective and acImpatto delle tecnologie distali, Telehealth e mHealth, sul self management del diabete di tipo 1: una revisione narrativa Distal technologies impact, Telehealth and mHealth, on type 1 diabetes self-management: a narrative