Effectiveness of digital health using the transtheoretical model to prevent or delay type 2 diabetes in impaired glucose tolerance patients: protocol for a randomized control trial.

Background: There is high prevalence of prediabetes and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in Saudi Arabia that is still increasing. Early diagnosis of prediabetes, and immediate, effective intervention is yet unestablished. Conventional health promotion approaches are used to educate prediabetic patients. Behavior modification is very effective in prediabetics to delay T2DM. Thus, the main objective of this study is to examine the effect of the new behavioral model, the Transtheoretical Model short messages (text 4 change) to modify lifestyle to prevent or delay the onset of T2DM, through promotion of a healthy diet and increased physical activity, in impaired glucose tolerance patients. Another objective is to estimate the impact of this model on markers of cardiovascular and metabolic risks as T2DM is one of the modifiable risk factors to prevent cardiovascular diseases.

Methods: This is a randomized controlled trial. One thousand and sixteen, eligible Saudi adults will be recruited from the Heart Health Promotion study (HHP), which was conducted at the King Saud University from July 2013 to April 2014. These adults were at a higher risk of developing T2DM within 2-3 years. The research team's database has a contact list and they will recruit individuals over 6-8 weeks. All participants will be randomized at a 1:1 ratio into two groups, receive group education about lifestyle modifications and written information about diet and physical activity. Text 4 change SMS texts will be sent only to the intervention group. All participants will be assessed at baseline, 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, and 36 months for behavioral change using a World Health Organization (WHO) STEPS questionnaire and for glycated hemoglobin, biochemical and anthropometric measurements using standard methods.

Discussion: This new approach for promoting the importance of behavior modification in prediabetics is expected to delay and/or prevent the development of T2DM in Saudi Arabia, subsequently reducing the risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality too. Results from this study will promote an innovative and high-tech way to decrease the burden of cardiovascular diseases in Saudi Arabia.

Trial Registration: International Standard Randomized Control Trial, registration number ISRCTN10857643. Registered 4 June, 2018.