Self-Administered Auricular Acupressure Integrated With a Smartphone App for Weight Reduction: Randomized Feasibility Trial

Effects of modified oropharyngeal exercises on individuals with simple snoring: An online randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND

Individuals who suffer from simple snoring rarely go to a doctor due to a lack of medical knowledge, but simple snoring can reduce the individual's quality of life and may cause social problems to the bed partner/family members.

OBJECTIVES

The aims of the present study are to explore the effects of online modified oropharyngeal exercises on the individuals with simple snoring and to provide a rehabilitation method for individuals with simple snoring.

METHODS

This study is a double-blinded, two-arm, randomized controlled trial. Participants were enrolled and randomly assigned to the intervention group (n = 33) or the control group (n = 33). The participants in the control group received health education on snoring, while the participants in the intervention group received the modified oropharyngeal exercise besides health education on snoring. The intervention duration was 4 weeks. The primary outcomes included snoring index, snoring loudness, and snoring quantity. The secondary outcomes included self-reported snoring, sleep quality, daytime sleepiness, anxiety symptoms, depression symptoms, and quality of life. All outcomes were measured at baseline, 4 weeks, and 8 weeks.

RESULTS

Generalized estimating equations (GEE) analyses showed significant differences between the intervention group and the control group on snoring index, loudness, and quantity (p < .001). Moreover, modified oropharyngeal exercise had effects on sleep quality, daytime sleepiness, anxiety symptoms, depression symptoms, and quality of life in individuals with simple snoring (p < .001). Self-reported snoring also improved at 8 weeks.

CONCLUSION

The modified oropharyngeal exercises were effective in improving simple snoring. It could also improve sleep quality, daytime sleepiness, anxiety symptoms, depression symptoms, and quality of life.

Efficacy of Interventions That Incorporate Mobile Apps in Facilitating Weight Loss and Health Behavior Change in the Asian Population: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Background

Smartphone apps have shown potential in enhancing weight management in Western populations in the short to medium term. With a rapidly growing obesity burden in Asian populations, researchers are turning to apps as a service delivery platform to reach a larger target audience to efficiently address the problem.

Objective

This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to determine the efficacy of interventions that incorporate apps in facilitating weight loss and health behavior change in the Asian population.

Methods

A total of 6 databases were searched in June 2020. The eligible studies included controlled trials in which an app was used in the intervention. The participants were aged 18 years or older and were of Asian ethnicity. A meta-analysis to test intervention efficacy, subgroup analyses, and post hoc analyses was conducted to determine the effects of adding an app to usual care and study duration. The primary outcome was absolute or percentage weight change, whereas the secondary outcomes were changes to lifestyle behaviors.

Results

A total of 21 studies were included in this review, and 17 (81%) were selected for the meta-analysis. The pooled effect size across 82% (14/17) of the randomized controlled trials for weight change was small to moderate (Hedges g=–0.26; 95% CI –0.41 to –0.11), indicating slightly greater weight loss achieved in the intervention group; however, this may not be representative of long-term studies (lasting for more than a year). Supplementing multicomponent usual care with an app led to greater weight loss (Hedges g=–0.28; 95% CI –0.47 to –0.09). Asian apps were largely culturally adapted and multifunctional, with the most common app features being communication with health professionals and self-monitoring of behaviors and outcomes.

Conclusions

More evidence is required to determine the efficacy of apps in the long term and address the low uptake of apps to maximize the potential of the intervention. Future research should determine the efficacy of each component of the multicomponent intervention to facilitate the designing of studies that are most effective and cost-efficient for weight management.

Trial Registration

PROSPERO CRD42020165240; https://tinyurl.com/2db4tvn6