Text messages help teens follow diabetes regimen

A pediatric endocrinologist has found a redeeming feature of the teen text message mania.

Dr. Jennifer Dyer, an assistant professor of pediatrics at The Ohio State University, says weekly customized text messages can keep teen diabetics from straying from their treatment regimens.

In a study Dyer conducted, teens who received the text messages showed better adherence to medication schedules and other treatment guidelines and improved blood-sugar levels.

According to statistics, the average teen sends dozens to text messages a day from cell phones and smartphones like Apple's iPhone and the calling plans of roughly 75 percent of teens have unlimited texting.

Dyer, an endocrinologist at the Nationwide Children's Hospital, in Columbus, Ohio, began her study after deciding texting could be a way to get the attention of teen diabetics and keep them towing the treatment line. Doctors say teens are four times more likely than adults to be doing a proper job of managing their diabetes.

"If adolescent diabetes patients do not adhere to their treatment and medication plan, it can result in difficulty concentrating in school or functioning throughout the day," said Dyer.

The messages Dyer sent to teen diabetes patients were a combination of personalized questions and reminders specific to diabetes adherence activities in addition to friendly, supportive messages.

"This form of communication allows for real-time health management which is extremely valuable for patients that suffer from a chronic illness like diabetes," said Dyer, a principal investigator in the Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital.

Based on the result of her texting study, Dyer is in the process of developing an iPhone app that will allow endocrinologists to send personalized, yet automated, texts to multiple patients at a specific time.