Sept. 1, 2023 – The future of public health could be in your hands – or on your wrist, to be precise.
In one recent example, as many as 1 million iPhone and smartwatch users may sign up to share data about their menstrual cycles and other health and lifestyle factors like sleep and stress. Already, 100,000 have enrolled in this, a 10-year project among Harvard, Apple, and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences that is unprecedented in size and scope.
Academic medical centers are working with digital giants like Apple, Google, Samsung, Alphabet, and Amazon, as well as tech startups and nonprofits. The coronavirus pandemic sped up the trend, as medical institutions tested wearables to monitor patients from home. Symptom checkers and outbreak apps helped monitor exposure to infection and identify hot spots, and showed how large data sets could be captured in a consistent manner.
In 2015, a smartphone app, developed by Dorsey’s URMC team and partners, used Apple’s ResearchKit in a Parkinson’s disease trial. The researchers enrolled over 2,000 volunteers in a day, unheard-of numbers at the time. Ultimately, the study enrolled over 9,000 people, who did tasks like walking to measure gait changes. The published findings helped researchers better understand the how Parkinson's symptoms varied day to day, Dorsey said.
The Apple Women’s Health Study taps into more of a mix of people by race, ethnicity, age, socioeconomic position, and location, compared to the much smaller reach of earlier studies. Data collected relates to exercise, sleep, and environmental and behavioral factors, and monthly surveys capture personal details the app can’t.
“Future studies will dig deeper into the data, looking at at the impact of environmental exposures, behavior, and stress on menstrual cycles,” Mahalingaiah said.The promise of wearables is tempered by challenges. Much more testing is needed to ensure the devices provide clinical-grade data. Concerns remain in health care about privacy and cybersecurity threats, according to research from the professional services firm Deloitte.
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