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Digital health intervention fails to lower MI risk in South Asians
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A digital health intervention does not lower MI risk in people of South Asian descent, according to data published in JAMA Cardiology.
Sonia S. Anand, MD, PhD, FRCPC, of McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and colleagues randomly assigned South Asian men and women aged at least 30 years who were living in Ontario or British Columbia to a digital health intervention (n = 169) or control group (n = 174) in the SAHARA trial. All participants had to be free from CVD.
Sonia S. Anand
Participants in the digital health intervention group received emails and text messages to help support improvements in diet and physical activity. The primary endpoint was change in MI risk score from baseline to 1 year. Participants also received information about their genetic risk for MI.
According to the results, 152 (89.9%) in the digital health intervention group and 159 (91.4%) in the control group had the full MI risk score at the end of follow-up. Only two-thirds of all participants reported actively dieting and exercising 20 minutes three times per week.
In the intervention group, MI risk score decreased from 13.3 to 12.3 compared with a reduction of 13.3 to 12.6 in the control group. The relative change was not significant in a model adjusted for baseline scores (difference, –0.27; 95% CI, –1.12 to 0.58; P = .53) or in a fully adjusted model (difference, –0.39; 95% CI, –1.24 to 0.45; P = .36).
Knowledge of genetic risk for MI also did not appear to be correlated with behavior change. All participants received MI and genetic risk scores in the mail, but only 30.6% of those in the intervention group and 23.1% in the control group could recall their scores, and there was no relationship between baseline knowledge of genetic risk score and change in MI risk score (0.19; 95% CI, –0.4 to 0.78; P = .53).
The researchers wrote that more intensive in-person counseling sessions might better affect behavior change.
“Future trials should consider using more frequent text messaging and have bidirectional communication with participants,” the researchers wrote. – by Tracey Romero
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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