Overall , these aggregations of data provide evidence that DHIs can reduce CVD outcomes and have a positive impact on risk factors for CVD
OBJECTIVE To assess the potential benefit of digital health interventions ( DHIs ) on  cardiovascular disease ( CVD ) outcomes ( CVD events , all-cause mortality , hospitalizations ) and risk factors compared with non-DHIs .
Cardiovascular Health Effects of Internet-Based Encouragements to Do Daily Workplace Stair-Walks: Randomized Controlled Trial
Background Although the hazardous health effects of a sedentary lifestyle are well known , many adults struggle with regular physical activity . Simple and efficient encouragements for increased physical activity are needed . Objective To determine the effect on cardiovascular health of email-based encouragements to do daily stair-walks at work together with colleagues among adults in sedentary occupations . Methods A single-blind r and omized controlled trial was performed at a large administrative company in Copenhagen , Denmark . Participants were 160 office workers ( 125 women , 35 men ; mean age 42 years , SD 10 ; sitting 89.5 % of work time ) . At baseline , aerobic fitness was 37 mL/min/kg ( SD 9 ) , mean blood pressure was 118/79 mmHg ( SD 14/9 ) , and mean body mass index ( BMI ) was 23 kg/m2 ( SD 4 ) . Participants were r and omly assigned ( 2:1 ratio ) to an email group receiving weekly email-based encouragements to walk the stairs for 10 minutes a day or to a control group receiving weekly reminders to continue their usual physical activities . The primary outcome was the change from baseline to 10-week follow-up in aerobic fitness determined from a maximal cycle test . The examiner was blinded to group allocation . Results Adherence to the email encouragements  was fairly high with 82.7 % of the participants performing at least 3 sessions of 10-minute stair-walks per week ( mean 3.3 , SD 1.3 ) . Mean heart rate reached 167 beats/min ( SD 10 ) during stair-walks . In the intention-to-treat analysis , aerobic fitness increased 1.45 mL/min/kg ( 95 % CI 0.64 - 2.27 ) at 10-week follow-up in the email group compared with the control group . In participants with low aerobic fitness at baseline ( n=56 ) , aerobic fitness increased 1.89 mL/min/kg ( 95 % CI 0.53 - 3.24 ) , and systolic and diastolic blood pressure decreased 4.81 mmHg ( 95 % CI 0.47 - 9.16 ) and 2.67 mmHg ( 95 % CI 0.01 - 5.32 ) , respectively , in the email group compared with the control group . Body weight decreased in the email group of those with low aerobic fitness compared with the control group , but this was not statistically significant . Conclusions Simple and inexpensive email-based encouragements to do daily stair-walks together with colleagues at work improves cardiovascular health among adults in sedentary occupations . There exists an enormous potential to prevent the hazardous health effects of a sedentary lifestyle through the use of email-based encouragements to do short bouts of physical activity at the workplace . Trial Registration Clinical trials.gov NCT01293253 ; http:// clinical trials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01293253 ( Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6HWG2jw68 )
Overall , these aggregations of data provide evidence that DHIs can reduce CVD outcomes and have a positive impact on risk factors for CVD
OBJECTIVE To assess the potential benefit of digital health interventions ( DHIs ) on  cardiovascular disease ( CVD ) outcomes ( CVD events , all-cause mortality , hospitalizations ) and risk factors compared with non-DHIs .