Value of Engagement in Digital Health Technology Research: Evidence Across 6 Unique Cohort Studies.

Background: Wearable digital health technologies and mobile apps (personal digital health technologies [DHTs]) hold great promise for transforming health research and care. However, engagement in personal DHT research is poor.

Objective: The objective of this paper is to describe how participant engagement techniques and different study designs affect participant adherence, retention, and overall engagement in research involving personal DHTs.

Remote Short Sessions of Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback Monitored With Wearable Technology: Open-Label Prospective Feasibility Study.

Background: Heart rate variability (HRV) biofeedback is often performed with structured education, laboratory-based assessments, and practice sessions. It has been shown to improve psychological and physiological function across populations. However, a means to remotely use and monitor this approach would allow for wider use of this technique.

Longitudinal monitoring of IL-6 and CRP in inflammatory bowel disease using IBD-AWARE.

There are limitations to monitoring modalities for chronic inflammatory conditions, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Wearable devices are scalable mobile health technology that present an opportunity to monitor markers that have been linked to worsening, chronic inflammatory conditions and enable remote monitoring. In this research article, we evaluate and demonstrate a proof-of-concept wearable device to longitudinally monitor inflammatory and immune markers linked to IBD disease activity in sweat compared to expression in serum.

Longitudinal assessment of sweat-based TNF-alpha in inflammatory bowel disease using a wearable device.

Wearable devices can non-invasively monitor patients with chronic diseases. Sweat is an easily accessible biofluid for continuous sampling of analytes, including inflammatory markers and cytokines. We evaluated a sweat sensing wearable device in subjects with and without inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), a chronic inflammatory condition of the gastrointestinal tract.

Development of the ehive Digital Health App: Protocol for a Centralized Research Platform.

Background: The increasing use of smartphones, wearables, and connected devices has enabled the increasing application of digital technologies for research. Remote digital study platforms comprise a patient-interfacing digital application that enables multimodal data collection from a mobile app and connected sources. They offer an opportunity to recruit at scale, acquire data longitudinally at a high frequency, and engage study participants at any time of the day in any place.

A machine learning approach to determine resilience utilizing wearable device data: analysis of an observational cohort.

Objective: To assess whether an individual's degree of psychological resilience can be determined from physiological metrics passively collected from a wearable device.

Materials And Methods: Data were analyzed in this secondary analysis of the Warrior Watch Study dataset, a prospective cohort of healthcare workers enrolled across 7 hospitals in New York City. Subjects wore an Apple Watch for the duration of their participation.

COVID-19 is not associated with worse long-term inflammatory bowel disease outcomes: a multicenter case-control study.

Background: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is not associated with worse coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outcomes. However, data are lacking regarding the long-term impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection on the disease course of IBD.

Objectives: We aimed to investigate the effect of COVID-19 on long-term outcomes of IBD.

Impact of Care in an Interdisciplinary Inflammatory Bowel Disease Specialty Clinic on Outcomes in Patients Insured with Medicaid.

Background: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients are known to benefit from care delivered in a specialized, interdisciplinary setting. We aimed to evaluate the impact of this model on health outcomes, quality metrics, and health care resource utilization (HRU) in IBD patients insured with Medicaid.

Materials And Methods: In July 2017, IBD patients at our tertiary hospital were transitioned from a fellows' general gastroenterology (GI) clinic to a fellows' interdisciplinary IBD clinic.

The future of telemedicine and wearable technology in IBD.

Purpose Of Review: Telemedicine has quickly become an essential part of modern healthcare, particularly in the management of chronic conditions like inflammatory bowel disease. The purpose of this review is to describe the current use of telehealth, mobile applications and wearable devices in inflammatory bowel disease and potential future applications.

Recent Findings: Telemedicine was increasingly used during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 pandemic.

Evaluation of a machine learning approach utilizing wearable data for prediction of SARS-CoV-2 infection in healthcare workers.

Objective: To determine whether a machine learning model can detect SARS-CoV-2 infection from physiological metrics collected from wearable devices.

Materials And Methods: Health care workers from 7 hospitals were enrolled and prospectively followed in a multicenter observational study. Subjects downloaded a custom smart phone app and wore Apple Watches for the duration of the study period.

Autoimmune conditions in the World Trade Center general responder cohort: A nested case-control and standardized incidence ratio analysis.

Background: The World Trade Center (WTC) general responder cohort (GRC) was exposed to environmental toxins possibly associated with increased risk of developing autoimmune conditions.

Objectives: Two study designs were used to assess incidence and risks of autoimmune conditions in the GRC.

Methods: Three clinically trained professionals established the status of possible GRC cases of autoimmune disorders adhering to diagnostic criteria, supplemented, as needed, by specialists' review of consenting responders' medical records.

Current Trends in IBD-Development of Mucosal-Based Biomarkers and a Novel Minimally Invasive Recoverable Sampling System.

Despite recent developments in therapy for inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs), there have been limited advances in diagnostic tools available to aid in disease management. A growing body of evidence suggests that there are important host-microbe interactions at the mucosal interface that modulate the inflammatory response in patients with IBD. Additionally, the importance of mucosal integrity and its disruption appears to be important in the pathophysiology and perpetuation of the disease.

Recommendations for Standardizing Clinical Trial Design and Endoscopic Assessment in Postoperative Crohn's Disease.

Background: The lack of standardized methods for clinical trial design and disease activity assessment has contributed to an absence of approved medical therapies for the prevention of postoperative Crohn's disease (CD). We developed recommendations for regulatory trial design for this indication and for endoscopic assessment of postoperative CD activity.

Methods: An international panel of 19 gastroenterologists was assembled.

Factors Associated With Longitudinal Psychological and Physiological Stress in Health Care Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Observational Study Using Apple Watch Data.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a high degree of psychological distress among health care workers (HCWs). There is a need to characterize which HCWs are at an increased risk of developing psychological effects from the pandemic. Given the differences in the response of individuals to stress, an analysis of both the perceived and physiological consequences of stressors can provide a comprehensive evaluation of its impact.

Use of Physiological Data From a Wearable Device to Identify SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Symptoms and Predict COVID-19 Diagnosis: Observational Study.

Background: Changes in autonomic nervous system function, characterized by heart rate variability (HRV), have been associated with infection and observed prior to its clinical identification.

Objective: We performed an evaluation of HRV collected by a wearable device to identify and predict COVID-19 and its related symptoms.

Methods: Health care workers in the Mount Sinai Health System were prospectively followed in an ongoing observational study using the custom Warrior Watch Study app, which was downloaded to their smartphones.

Autoimmune and Chronic Inflammatory Disease Patients with COVID-19.

Objective: There are limited data on the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on hospitalized patients with autoimmune and chronic inflammatory disease (AICID) compared with patients who do not have AICID. We sought to evaluate whether patients with AICID who have confirmed COVID-19 presenting to the hospital are at higher risk of adverse outcomes compared with those patients without AICID who are infected with COVID-19 and whether immunosuppressive medications impact this risk.

Methods: We performed a multicenter retrospective cohort study with patients presenting to five hospitals in a large academic health system with polymerase chain reaction-confirmed COVID-19 infection.

New Therapeutics for Ulcerative Colitis.

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a relapsing and remitting inflammatory disease of the colon with a variable course. Despite advances in treatment, only approximately 40% of patients achieve clinical remission at the end of a year, prompting the exploration of new treatment modalities. This review explores novel therapeutic approaches to UC, including promising drugs in various stages of development, efforts to maximize the efficacy of currently available treatment options, and non-medication-based modalities.

Longitudinal Autonomic Nervous System Measures Correlate With Stress and Ulcerative Colitis Disease Activity and Predict Flare.

Background: Differences in autonomic nervous system function, measured by heart rate variability (HRV), have been observed between patients with inflammatory bowel disease and healthy control patients and have been associated in cross-sectional studies with systemic inflammation. High HRV has been associated with low stress.

Methods: Patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) were followed for 9 months.

Real-World Effectiveness and Safety of Tofacitinib in Crohn's Disease and IBD-U: A Multicenter Study From the TROPIC Consortium.

The safety and efficacy of tofacitinib in Crohn's disease (CD) has been studied in 2 phase II trials in patients with moderate-to-severe CD with no new safety signals observed, but no significant difference from placebo in the primary efficacy endpoint of clinical response. However, post hoc analyses and smaller studies have observed clinical and biologic response to tofacitinib in patients with CD. There is a paucity of real-world effectiveness and safety data for tofacitinib in non-Food and Drug Administration label usage in patients with CD and patients with inflammatory bowel disease-unclassified (IBD-U).

Comparative Safety and Effectiveness of Vedolizumab to Tumor Necrosis Factor Antagonist Therapy for Ulcerative Colitis.

Background & Aims: We aimed to compare safety and effectiveness of vedolizumab to tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-antagonist therapy in ulcerative colitis in routine practice.

Methods: A multicenter, retrospective, observational cohort study (May 2014 to December 2017) of ulcerative colitis patients treated with vedolizumab or TNF-antagonist therapy. Propensity score weighted comparisons for development of serious adverse events and achievement of clinical remission, steroid-free clinical remission, and steroid-free deep remission.

The Role of Resilience in Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Other Chronic Gastrointestinal Conditions, and the General Population.

Background & Aims: Resilience is the ability to adapt positively to stress and adversity. It is a potential therapeutic target as it is reduced in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) compared to healthy controls and associated with worse symptom severity and poorer quality of life. The aim of this study was to examine if these findings are generalizable by comparing resilience between IBS versus the general population and other chronic gastrointestinal (GI) conditions.

Wearable Devices Are Well Accepted by Patients in the Study and Management of Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Survey Study.

Background: Wearable devices are designed to capture health-related and physiological data. They may be able to improve inflammatory bowel disease management and address evolving research needs. Little is known about patient perceptions for their use in the study and management of inflammatory bowel disease.

Comparative safety and effectiveness of vedolizumab to tumour necrosis factor antagonist therapy for Crohn's disease.

Background: Direct comparisons are lacking between vedolizumab and tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-antagonist therapy in Crohn's disease (CD).

Aim: To compare safety and effectiveness of vedolizumab and TNF-antagonist therapy in adult CD patients.

Methods: Retrospective observational cohort (May 2014-December 2017) propensity score-weighted comparison of vedolizumab vs TNF-antagonist therapy (infliximab, adalimumab, certolizumab) in CD.