Alev Kerti, Kütt Andres, Viigimaa Margus
Digital Health, Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech), Tallinn, Estonia.
Information Technology and Communication Technologies, Information Technology Department, Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech), Tallinn, Estonia.
Front Digit Health. 2021 Feb 9;2:567656. doi: 10.3389/fdgth.2020.567656. eCollection 2020.
The integration of genetic testing into eHealth applications holds great promise for the personalization of disease prevention guidelines. However, relatively little is known about the impact of eHealth applications on an individual's behavior. The aim of the pilot study was to investigate the effect of the personalized eHealth application approach to behavior change in a 1-month follow-up period on groups with previously known and unknown caffeine impacts. We created a direct-to-consumer approach that includes providing relevant information and personalized reminders and goals on the digital device regarding the caffeine intake for two groups of individuals: the intervention group (IG) with the genetic raw data available and the control group (CG) to test the impact of the same content (article about caffeine metabolism) on participants without the genetic test. Study participants were all Estonians ( = 160). The study suggests that eHealth applications work for short-term behavior change. Participants in the genetic IG tended to increase caffeine intake if they were informed about caffeine not being harmful. They reported feeling better physically and/or mentally after their behavioral change decision during the period of the study. Our pilot study revealed that eHealth applications may have a positive effect for short-term behavior change, regardless of a prior genetic test. Further studies among larger study groups are required to achieve a better understanding about behavior change of individuals in the field of personalized medicine and eHealth interventions.
将基因检测整合到电子健康应用中，对于疾病预防指南的个性化具有巨大潜力。然而，人们对电子健康应用对个人行为的影响了解相对较少。这项试点研究的目的是，在为期1个月的随访期内，调查个性化电子健康应用方法对先前已知和未知咖啡因影响的群体行为改变的效果。我们创建了一种直接面向消费者的方法，包括在数字设备上为两组个体提供有关咖啡因摄入量的相关信息、个性化提醒和目标：一组是拥有基因原始数据的干预组（IG），另一组是对照组（CG），用于测试相同内容（关于咖啡因代谢的文章）对未进行基因检测的参与者的影响。研究参与者均为爱沙尼亚人（n = 160）。该研究表明，电子健康应用对短期行为改变有效。如果得知咖啡因无害，基因干预组的参与者往往会增加咖啡因摄入量。他们报告说，在研究期间做出行为改变决定后，身体和/或精神状态感觉更好。我们的试点研究表明，无论之前是否进行基因检测，电子健康应用可能对短期行为改变有积极影响。需要在更大的研究群体中进行进一步研究，以更好地了解个性化医疗和电子健康干预领域中个体的行为改变情况。
