Meta-Analysis of Studies on the Effects of Digital Therapeutics

Abstract

Digital therapeutics (DTx), novel treatment methods that have the potential to surpass traditional approaches such as pills, have received considerable research attention. Various efforts have been made to explore effective treatment methods that actively integrate DTx. This review investigates DTx treatment outcomes comprehensively through a meta-analysis. The analysis—a manual search of studies on “digital therapeutics”—includes DTx studies from January 2017 to October 2022. Hedges’ g is used to quantify effect size for fifteen studies analyzed, encompassing eight control groups. Further, a quality assessment is performed using the Bias Risk Assessment Tool. The Hedges’ g analysis results provide weighted average effect sizes across the eight control groups, revealing a substantial value of 0.91 (95% CI: 0.62 to 1.20); this signifies a moderate to large effect size. Further refinement, which excludes one study, yields an increased weighted average effect size of 1.13 (95% CI: 0.91 to 1.36). The quality assessment results consistently indicate a low risk of bias across studies. The meta-analysis results indicate that DTx can provide significant pivotal therapeutic impacts and offer a means to personalize treatment approaches and streamline the management of patients’ treatment processes.