App Helps Asthma Patients Track Symptoms

Follow Drugslib on

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on April 30, 2025.

By Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, April 30, 2025 -- A smartphone app can help asthma patients better track their symptoms and live healthier, a new study says.

The app helps patients monitor their symptoms in between visits with their doctor, researchers reported April 23 in JAMA Network Open.

People given the app experienced improvements in their quality of life during a 20-month period, researchers found.

“Overall, these data suggest that the between-visit symptom monitoring led to an average improvement in asthma quality of life among study patients, although this improvement did not meet the threshold of a minimally important change,” concluded the research team led by Robert Rudin, a senior information scientist with the non-profit RAND research group.

“However, the intervention showed potential benefits for certain subgroups and may be useful in other chronic diseases in which between-visit symptoms are important, such as rheumatoid disorders, musculoskeletal disorders, and mental health conditions,” researchers added.

For the study, researchers randomly assigned half of a group of 366 patients to use a smartphone app to track their asthma symptoms in between office visits.

The app tracked things like their peak air flows and offered educational material about managing asthma. If patients’ symptoms grew worse, they were offered the option of calling their doctor.

Results show the app particularly helped people ages 18 to 44 and those who started off with a lower quality of life score or more uncontrolled asthma.

The app might be more effective among these patients because “those patients have more potential to improve their knowledge, skills and confidence in managing their health, and this intervention helps them with those factors,” researchers concluded.

Sources

  • JAMA Network Open, April 23, 2025
  • RAND, news release, April 23, 2025

    • Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

    Source: HealthDay

    Posted : 2025-05-01 00:00

    Read more

    Disclaimer

    Every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided by Drugslib.com is accurate, up-to-date, and complete, but no guarantee is made to that effect. Drug information contained herein may be time sensitive. Drugslib.com information has been compiled for use by healthcare practitioners and consumers in the United States and therefore Drugslib.com does not warrant that uses outside of the United States are appropriate, unless specifically indicated otherwise. Drugslib.com's drug information does not endorse drugs, diagnose patients or recommend therapy. Drugslib.com's drug information is an informational resource designed to assist licensed healthcare practitioners in caring for their patients and/or to serve consumers viewing this service as a supplement to, and not a substitute for, the expertise, skill, knowledge and judgment of healthcare practitioners.

    The absence of a warning for a given drug or drug combination in no way should be construed to indicate that the drug or drug combination is safe, effective or appropriate for any given patient. Drugslib.com does not assume any responsibility for any aspect of healthcare administered with the aid of information Drugslib.com provides. The information contained herein is not intended to cover all possible uses, directions, precautions, warnings, drug interactions, allergic reactions, or adverse effects. If you have questions about the drugs you are taking, check with your doctor, nurse or pharmacist.

    Popular Keywords