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The following is a summary of “Involvement of specialists in primary healthcare teams for managing diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis,” published in the February 2025 issue of BMC Primary Care by Li et al.
Diabetes care needs continuous management. Evidence is needed on how specialist involvement in primary healthcare affects glycemic control.
Researchers conducted a prospective study to evaluate the impact of specialist involvement in primary healthcare on glycemic control in diabetes.
They searched 5 databases (PubMed, Embase, Web of Science Core Collection, CNKI, Wanfang) for studies published until October 21, 2023. They assessed methodological quality using EPOC risk of bias criteria and certainty using GRADE. They measured HbA1c levels and performed meta-analyses with random-effects models.
The results showed that 12 studies (7 randomized controlled trials (RCTs), 5 controlled before-after) found specialist involvement in primary healthcare significantly reduced HbA1c (mean difference −0.57, 95% CI: −0.86 to −0.27, I2 = 88.17%) compared to standard care.
Investigators found that interventions improved care and health outcomes but had very low certainty for glycemic control. Caution is needed in policy-making, and further rigorous research is required.
Source: bmcprimcare.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12875-025-02743-y
