Key result
Internet or cellphone use links to ~58% lower CVD prevalence among African Americans.
Why the study?
Literature on the feasibility of conducting cardiovascular disease research using mHealth platforms among middle-aged and older African Americans has been limited.
Cross-Sectional (n=2,564)
Absolute Event Rate: 6.6% vs 15.8%
High penetrance of internet and smartphone use among middle-aged African Americans in the Jackson Heart Study suggests mHealth technologies are feasible for cardiovascular research in this population, though an age and education divide remains.
Supports mHealth feasibility in African Americans; leaves open selection bias and causality for cardiovascular outcomes.
BACKGROUND: Although new approaches for data collection, such as mobile technology and teleresearch, have demonstrated new opportunities for the conduct of more timely and less costly surveys in community-based studies, literature on the feasibility of conducing cardiovascular disease research using mobile health (mHealth) platforms among middle-aged and older African Americans has been limited. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to contribute to the knowledge regarding the penetrance of internet and mobile technologies, such as cellphones or smartphones in existing large cohort studies of cardiovascular disease. METHODS: A digital connectedness survey was conducted in the Jackson Heart Study (JHS), a Mississippi-based African American cohort study, as part of the annual follow-up calls with participants from July 2017 to February 2019. RESULTS: Of the 4024 participants contacted, 2564 (63.7%) completed the survey. Among survey respondents, 2262 (88.2%) reported use of internet or cellphone, and 1593 (62.1%) had a smartphone. Compared to nonusers (n=302), internet or cellphone users (n=2262) were younger (mean age 80.1, SD 8.0 vs 68.2, SD 11.3 years), more likely to be affluent (n=778, 40.1% vs n=39, 15.4%), and had greater than high school education (n=1636, 72.5% vs n=85, 28.1%). Internet or cellphone users were less likely to have cardiovascular disease history compared to nonusers (136/2262, 6.6% vs 41/302, 15.8%). The prevalence of current smoking and average BMI were similar between internet or cellphone users and nonusers. Among internet or cellphone users, 1316 (58.3%) reported use of email, 504 (22.3%) reported use of apps to track or manage health, and 1269 (56.1%) expressed interest in using JHS-developed apps. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that it is feasible to use mHealth technologies to collect survey data among African Americans already enrolled in a longitudinal study. Our findings also highlight the need for more efforts to reduce the age and education divide in access and use of internet and smartphones for tracking health and research in African American communities.
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Anugu et al. (2022) conducted a cross-sectional in Cardiovascular disease (n=2,564). Internet or cellphone use vs. Nonusers was evaluated on Cardiovascular disease history. Internet or cellphone users were less likely to have a history of cardiovascular disease compared to nonusers (6.6% vs 15.8%) among African American cohort participants.
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