Grant: Project Grant

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a chronic disease that increases the risk of other complications such as heart attack, heart and kidney failure, and blindness. The number of Canadians living with diabetes or prediabetes is rapidly growing and is expected to reach 33% by 2025. Therefore, strategies to screen and monitor T2D at clinics and at home, are urgently needed. Progression of T2D can be slowed down and its damage to organs in the body is highly preventable with proper implementation of lifestyle changes and medication. If diagnosed early, the effects of T2D can be reversed. Despite this, 40% of Canadians are not getting screened for T2D according to guidelines, and many patients with T2D are left undiagnosed until a major health problem occurs. T2D screening is particularly important among patients with established heart disease. User-friendly devices such as smartwatches and phones show promise as tools to screen for diseases. Scientists are capable of training these devices to detect 'biomarkers' which are specific signals produced by the body that can indicate a disease process. In partnership with Canadian wearable device company (HOP), we have led a study named DECIDE-CV-1 to develop and validate digital screening biomarkers for T2D in large populations. Preliminary results led to a very promising "biomarker" and demonstrated that this strategy is highly feasible if trained on a large enough population. Here, we aim to validate the developed digital biomarkers associated with T2D and HbA1c developed in the initial study (DECIDE-CV-1) in multiple sites across regions of Canada (DECIDE-CV-2). Because of differences in the manifestation of T2D in clinics between men and women, we also aim to optimize the developed digital biomarkers associated with T2D based on biological sex. Overall, if developed and validated, this technology may improve early diagnosis rates of T2D and have a significant impact on improving patients' lives and healthcare management.