Self-reporting platform may improve quality of life in long COVID, autoimmune diseases
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
A self-evidence data platform may help patients with autoimmune diseases and long COVID avoid certain lifestyle and environmental triggers, according to a press release.
“The real-world evidence from the study reinforces why even following standard guidelines that provide benefits to the average person can be dangerous for some patients: No two individuals in the study reported the same combination of symptoms and sensitivities,” Mette Dyhrberg, the CEO and founder of Mymee Inc., said in a press release. “The more sensitive a patient is to their food and environment, the greater their symptoms, and the more a precision approach based on their own evidence becomes necessary.”
Researchers used the self-evidence data platform from Mymee, a digital care program for people with autoimmune diseases, to conduct a retrospective, real-world study in which enrolled patients were paired with a dedicated health and nutrition coach. The coaches previously received training with the platform to better understand the dietary and environmental needs of patients with long COVID and autoimmune and rheumatic diseases, the release said.
Meanwhile, the majority of the 202 patients enrolled in the study had been diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematous, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, mixed connective tissue disease or long COVID.
Patients used the Mymee platform to keep track of interactions between symptoms and possible environmental sensitivities and were evaluated to measure the impact of the program on their health-related quality of life, as well as for symptoms of 59 different disease manifestations. Average time in the program was 17 weeks, with an average of 756 observations recorded per patient.
According to the release, among the patients with long COVID, 93% self-reported pain and or aches in joints, 73% reported stiffness or limitation of movement, and more than 97% reported fatigue at baseline. Meanwhile, patients who used the platform reported “significant” improvements in all measured domains, including fatigue, anxiety, pain interference, pain intensity, social roles, sleep disturbance, cognitive function, physical function, and ability to manage symptoms. In addition, patients discovered sensitivities including sunflower seed butter, vanilla extract, cinnamon, kale, ginger, probiotics and supplements.
“The most important qualitative findings were the significant improvements in those patients who had tried one-size-fits-all diet and lifestyle interventions but found no relief or got worse,” Nicole Bundy, MD, a rheumatologist and medical director at Mymee, said in the release. “The retrospective included patients who had tried the Mediterranean diet, the Autoimmune Protocol Diet or an elimination diet without benefit. The timing couldn't be better, with American College of Rheumatology’s latest guidelines released this week encouraging rheumatologists to consider diet and other integrative interventions in treatment.”
Collapse
Read more about
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts