Scroll to top
Tag: physical health
03/08/2023

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Mobile App Improves Health Behavior in Patients with Diabetes

Article Excerpt: With the use of cognitive behavioral therapy, a smartphone app helped patients with type 2 diabetes reduce HbA1c with less medication and insulation intensification vs. controls, a speaker reported. “Cardiometabolic diseases, and at its core, type 2 diabetes, are largely behavioral-acquired diseases and they’re related to unhelpful behaviors. But when we drive to what are the core, root causes of these behavioral choices, they have to do with thoughts and beliefs that lead to unhelpful behaviors and then unhelpful food choices, eating, exercise or behaviors and then type 2 diabetes,” Marc P. Bonaca, MD, MPH, FAHA, FACC, executive director of CPC Clinical Research, professor of cardiology and vascular medicine and director of vascular research at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, said during a press conference. “How do we break that cycle?

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/2s4ht3rj

Article Source: Healio

01/23/2023

Extra Belly Fat at Midlife May Increase Risk of Disability Later in Life

Article Excerpt: Scientists in Norway looked at data from about 4,500 people age 45 or older at the study’s start for an average of 21 years, and discovered that individuals who had a high waist circumference measurement at the beginning were twice as likely to be frail or pre-frail (meaning at high risk of becoming frail) than people who started out with a normal waist size…. John Batsis, MD, an associate professor of geriatric medicine at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in Chapel Hill also not involved with the new study, says excess belly fat can contribute to frailty. “Visceral fat promotes inflammation, which then has more widespread effects on other organs and one’s physiology — including muscle and changes in body composition, important alterations in skeletal muscle mass and strength. [These effects] often lead to frailty and mobility disability,” he says.

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/284m2uck

Article Source: Everyday Health

01/09/2023

New mHealth Intervention Aims to Curb Smoking Among Black HIV Patients

Article Excerpt: Following a $1.3 million grant from the National Institute of Drug Abuse, Lorra Garey, a researcher from the University of Houston RESTORE Lab, plans to lead a research project to assess the impact of an mHealth application to mitigate smoking among Black people with HIV. HIV, a virus that attacks the body’s immune system, affects a large portion of the worldwide population. According to the World Health Organization, it has led to 40 million deaths globally. In addition, the US Department of Veterans Affairs noted that about 20 percent of US citizens with HIV are not aware that they have it, according to the press release.

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/456cr8fh

Article Source: mHealthIntelligence

11/08/2022

Clinical Trial to Assess Efficacy of Virtual Alcohol Use Disorder Treatment

Article Excerpt: Over the last 10 years, alcohol use disorder (AUD) has been a significant driver of the drop in life expectancy in the US, with 28.3 million people suffering from the disease in 2020, according to the press release. Among those 26 years and older, the frequency of AUD doubled between 2017 and 2020, rising from 10.6 million to 22.4 million. To help address and treat these conditions, Ria Health announced a partnership with Stanford University at The Liver Meeting to launch a clinical trial using funding from the NIH. In the trial, researchers will examine whether the Ria Health Program can limit problematic drinking and markers related to liver disease. Hosted by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, The Liver Meeting is the leading national conference for hepatology.

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/53ds73s6

Article Source: mHealth Intelligence

10/06/2022

Integrated Fitness Tracker, Mobile Health App Potentially Improves Teachers’ Mental Wellness – Study

Article Excerpt: Corporate mental wellness platform MindFi and Fitbit (now part of Google) have undertaken a pilot study to assess the impact of using a combined fitness wearable device and mental health app on users. Their 10-week study engaged around 100 public school teachers in Singapore and evaluated their progress and lifestyle changes, including activity level, sleep and heart rate.

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/bde5j9f7

Article Source: MobiHealthNews

09/22/2022

Dartmouth-led Research Team Receives $3.3 Million Grant to Test Efficacy of Adding Audio Recordings to Clinic Visits with Older Adults

Article Excerpt: A Dartmouth-led research group, including investigators from Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) and the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), has received a $3.3 million grant from the National Institute on Aging. In this NIH stage III ‘real world’ efficacy trial, investigators will compare the impact of sharing visit recordings to care as usual over 12 months in older adults with diabetes. According to previous studies, up to 80 percent of clinic visit information is forgotten by patients immediately after seeing their healthcare provider. This presents a significant barrier to their ability to manage their conditions, especially if they are older and have comorbidities that lead to poor health outcomes. “After visit summaries can improve recall, but concerns still exist about their readability, accuracy, and low patient usage,” says Paul Barr, PhD, an associate professor of The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy & Clinical Practice, and Center for Technology & Behavioral Health (CTBH) at the Geisel School of Medicine.

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/54fuf7f4

Article Source: Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine News

09/19/2022

Why VR Could Be the New Dawn of Pain, Anxiety Management

Article Excerpt: Experts think virtual reality (VR) can help address the country’s rising levels of pain and anxiety. By flooding the brain with positive signals, VR experiences can act as a drug-free alternative to pain and mental health management — and hospitals across the nation are deploying the technology.

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/ejsb9p6k

Article Source: MedCityNews

09/08/2022

Leveraging Data From Wearable Medical Devices

Article Excerpt: Diabetes, and other chronic conditions like cancer or cardiovascular disease, require a lifetime of management. In recent years, a slew of wearable devices such as glucose monitors, activity trackers, heart rate monitors, and pulse oximeters have been adopted by patients and health care providers to track and manage these conditions more effectively. These devices are also a rich source of data that can be analyzed to better understand the factors and behaviors that lead to improved health outcomes. “But they’re vastly underutilized,” says Temiloluwa Prioleau, assistant professor of computer science and co-director of the Augmented Health Lab, which is focused on bridging this gap.

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/39s6eujx

Article Source: Dartmouth News

09/07/2022

Medicare’s Annual Wellness Visits Fail to Meet Needs of Older Adult, Study Says

Article Excerpt: Medicare annual wellness visits do not adequately meet the wellness needs of the diverse population of U.S. adults, according to research conducted at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. Physicians at the medical school weighed the opportunities gained and lost through the one-size-fits-all approach to Medicare annual wellness visits, according to a Sept. 6 news release. Annual medical visits address disease prevention and the promotion of health and wellness and are an important part of medical care for older adults. Medicare initiated annual wellness visits as part of the program 10 years ago. John Batsis, MD, associate professor in the division of geriatric medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said there is a missed opportunity to use the Medicare annual wellness visit in a manner to optimize quality of life and physical function among the millions of older adults in the United States.

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/3yhzpx7d

Article Source: Becker’s Hospital Review