Associations of clinical, psychological, and sociodemographic characteristics and ecological momentary assessment completion in the 10-week Hypo-METRICS study: Hypoglycaemia MEasurements ThResholds and ImpaCtS

Introduction

Reporting of hypoglycaemia and its impact in clinical studies is often retrospective and subject to recall bias. We developed the Hypo-METRICS app to measure the daily physical, psychological, and social impact of hypoglycaemia in adults with type 1 and insulin-treated type 2 diabetes in real-time using ecological momentary assessment (EMA). To help assess its utility, we aimed to determine Hypo-METRICS app completion rates and factors associated with completion.

Methods

Adults with diabetes recruited into the Hypo-METRICS study were given validated patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) at baseline. Over 10 weeks, they wore a blinded continuous glucose monitor (CGM), and were asked to complete three daily EMAs about hypoglycaemia and aspects of daily functioning, and two weekly sleep and productivity PROMs on the bespoke Hypo-METRICS app. We conducted linear regression to determine factors associated with app engagement, assessed by EMA and PROM completion rates and CGM metrics.

Results

In 602 participants (55% men; 54% type 2 diabetes; median(IQR) age 56 (45–66) years; diabetes duration 19 (11–27) years; HbA1c 57 (51–65) mmol/mol), median(IQR) overall app completion rate was 91 (84–96)%, ranging from 90 (81–96)%, 89 (80–94)% and 94(87–97)% for morning, afternoon and evening check-ins, respectively. Older age, routine CGM use, greater time below 3.0 mmol/L, and active sensor time were positively associated with app completion.

Discussion

High app completion across all app domains and participant characteristics indicates the Hypo-METRICS app is an acceptable research tool for collecting detailed data on hypoglycaemia frequency and impact in real-time.