Researchers at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital have published research results, which showed that Health4U, the hospital’s mobile health application, improves the patient's lifestyle.
Health4U is an application that records and manages the patient’s physical exercise (step count), weight, sleep time, stress, blood pressure and diabetes. The app also has a connection with the hospital’s electronic medical record (EMR) system.
The team found that the application had significant effects on snoring therapy and weight loss.
The research team, led by Professors Kim Jung-hoon of the department of otorhinolaryngology, Jung Se-hyung of the department of family medicine and Yoo Soo-young of the Medical Information Center at the hospital, analyzed 47 patients aged 20 years or older in a randomized clinical trial from July to November 2016. The patients participating in the trial all had habitual snoring or sleep apnea.
The researchers divided the experimental group into two groups, 23 patients received consultations from the medical staff to adjust their lifestyle without using the app, while the remaining 24 used the mobile app.
As a result, the study found that the success rate of weight loss in mobile users was higher than those who did not use the app. The data showed that 22 of the 24 people who used the app were able to lose weight, compared to only 9 of the 23 people who did not use the app.
The app also significantly reduced snoring durations.
The percentage of snoring time, 45dB or more, decreased from 16.7 to 10.2 percent in app users, while dropping 15.9 to 13.2 percent in the non-app group.
“For patients that used the app, the information on their lifestyles such as the amount of food and physical activity could be accurately and objectively confirmed through the hospital EMR system,” Professor Kim said. “For medical practitioners, it was possible to encourage patients to improve lifestyle habits more effectively through the app.”
The application also allowed patients to examine their data with the medical staff before getting personalized advice, Kim added.