Mobile Health Access and Use Among Individuals With or At Risk for Cardiovascular Disease: 2018 Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS)

BACKGROUND: Mobile health (mHealth) technologies can deliver interventions to prevent and manage cardiovascular disease (CVD), but mHealth uptake among those with or at risk for CVD remains incompletely explored. Therefore, in this group, we assessed the prevalence of mHealth access and usage, and the association between CVD risk and mHealth uptake. METHODS AND RESULTS: Data were from 3248 adults in the 2018 Health Information National Trends Survey. We defined CVD risk as reporting a heart condition, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and/or current smoking (n=1903). Multivariable logistic regression, adjusting for demographics, was used to assess the relationship between CVD risk and mHealth uptake. Most individuals with CVD risk owned a smartphone (73%, 95% CI: 69%–76%) and 48% (95% CI: 44%–52%) had a health app. Among men, those with CVD risk were more likely to use a wearable device (odds ratio 2.43, 95% CI: 1.44–4.10) than those without CVD risk, while there was no difference among women. In both sexes, CVD risk was associated with sharing information from a smartphone/wearable with a clinician (odds ratio 1.63, 95% CI 1.12–2.35 in women; odds ratio 3.99, 95% CI 2.30–6.95 in men). However, there was no difference in the odds of using mHealth to track health progress, make health decisions, aid healthcare discussions, or text a clinician. CONCLUSIONS: In a nationally representative sample, there was high prevalence of smartphone ownership but incomplete mHealth uptake. Having CVD or its risk factors was associated with sharing information from smartphone/wearables, suggesting potential to leverage clinically validated mHealth interventions for CVD prevention.