What are the patterns of use of wearable devices amongst individuals with or in danger for heart problems within the US?

In a recent study published within the JAMA Network Open Journal, researchers examined the utilization of wearable devices amongst individuals who’ve or are in danger for heart problems (CVD).

Study: Use of Wearable Devices in Individuals With or at Risk for Cardiovascular Disease within the US, 2019 to 2020. Image Credit: LordBeard/Shutterstock.com

Background

Wearable devices are being recognized to reinforce the identification and management of CVD. Wearable devices have risen up to now decade, particularly for health monitoring throughout the pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

The growing endorsement of wearable devices in clinical care by regulatory bodies and clinical societies prompts the necessity to assess whether the present uptake of those devices is sufficient for enhancing cardiovascular care on a national scale.

Concerning the study

In the current study, researchers analyzed the sociodemographic trends within the usage of wearable devices amongst individuals who’ve or are in danger for CVD between 2019 and 2020.

The study adhered to the STROBE reporting guideline for observational studies in epidemiology. The study combined  Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) participants from 2019 and 2020 to form a representative sample for that point period.

The team utilized a two-stage probability sampling technique for every cycle. The Marketing Systems Group database stratified all nonvacant residential addresses in the US in keeping with the density of ethnic and racial minority populations.

Individuals having CVD and CVD risk aspects were identified through a survey questionnaire. The study’s foremost end result was the share of participants who utilized wearable devices to trace their physical activity and health throughout the last yr.

The study also assessed the prevalence of those proportions in various CVD risk groups and socioeconomic and demographic subgroups at a national level. Moreover, the team evaluated the frequency of using wearable devices and the willingness to share health-related information with clinicians.

Results

HINTS included 9,303 participants between 2019 and 2020, with a median age of 48.8 years, of which 51% were women. Roughly 933 participants were diagnosed with CVD, representing 20.3 million adults within the US, with a median age of 62.2 years, including 43% women.

Over 5,000 individuals, accounting for 55.7% of the sample, were found to be at CVD risk, representing a complete of 134.9 million US adults. Roughly half of the at-risk US adults were women; their estimated average age was 51.4 years.

The team also found that 12% of CVD patients aged 65 years or older, 18% of those aged 50 to 64 years, and 34% of those aged 18 to 49 years reported using wearable devices.

The usage of wearable devices amongst adults at CVD risk was found to be lower within the older age group, with 14% of those aged 65 years or older using them in comparison with 24% within the 50 to 64 years age group and 33% within the 18 to 49 years age group. Notably, sex didn’t affect using wearable devices in individuals with CVD or those at CVD risk.

Older individuals had significantly lower odds of using wearable devices than younger individuals, even after adjusting for demographic characteristics, CVD risk aspects, and socioeconomic characteristics.

Specifically, those within the oldest age group reported only one-fifth of the likelihood of using wearable devices within the CVD patient population and one-third of the likelihood within the at-risk patients in comparison with individuals aged between 18 and 49.

Moreover, wearable device usage didn’t show significant differences with respect to sex amongst CVD patients. Nonetheless, women reported higher wearable device usage amongst US adults at CVD risk.

Individuals with CVD who’ve diabetes are less prone to use wearable devices than those without diabetes. Nonetheless, no significant association was found between wearable device use and hypertension or obesity on this population.

Individuals with CVD and people in danger for it were significantly less prone to use wearable devices in the event that they smoked cigarettes, with a discount of over 90% and over 30%, respectively.

Conclusion

The study findings showed that roughly one-third of US adults, or 72 million people, use wearable devices. Nonetheless, using these devices is simply 18% amongst individuals with heart problems.

The study also revealed that wearable devices aren’t being utilized to their full potential by individuals with CVD, despite the increasing popularity of such devices in today’s society. This underuse is critical in comparison with the final adult population in the US. Progressive technologies for managing CVD may profit certain people probably the most, yet these populations showed the least likelihood of using these devices.

Wearable devices may improve cardiovascular health, but current usage patterns could worsen disparities without equitable adoption techniques.