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Background: Mobile app-assisted self-care interventions are emerging promising tools to support self-care of patients with chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and hypertension. The effectiveness of such interventions requires further exploration for more supporting evidence.

Objective: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were conducted to examine the effectiveness of mobile app-assisted self-care interventions developed for type 2 diabetes and/or hypertension in improving patient outcomes.

Methods: We followed the Cochrane Collaboration guidelines and searched MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, and CINAHL Plus for relevant studies published between January 2007 and January 2019. Primary outcomes included changes in hemoglobin A 1c (HbA 1c) levels, systolic blood pressure (SBP), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP). Changes in other clinical-, behavioral-, knowledge-, and psychosocial-related outcomes were included as secondary outcomes. Primary outcomes and objective secondary outcomes that were reported in at least two trials were meta-analyzed; otherwise, a narrative synthesis was used for data analysis.

Results: A total of 27 trials were identified and analyzed. For primary outcomes, the use of mobile app-assisted self-care interventions was associated with significant reductions in HbA 1c levels (standardized mean difference [SMD]− 0.44, 95% CI− 0.59 to− 0.29; P<. 001), SBP (SMD− 0.17, 95% CI− 0.31 to− 0.03, P=. 02), and DBP (SMD− 0.17, 95% CI− 0.30 to− 0.03, P=. 02). Subgroup analyses for primary outcomes showed that several intervention features were …