Personalized Digital Care Program Improves Outcomes in Long COVID and Autoimmune Disease

According to data, patients with autoimmune diseases or long COVID who used a personalized digital care program (DCP) developed by Mymee alongside other nonpharmacologic strategies were more likely to achieve better health-related quality of life (HRQoL) scores.

To assess the usefulness of a DCP, researchers analyzed data from those who participated in the program between April 2020 and June 2022. Patients were included in the analysis if there was baseline and end-of-program data available. At the beginning of enrollment, patients completed an intake form that included demographic and clinical information. The intake form also asked about current symptoms, and answers were used to inform the symptom tracking functions of the application.

Throughout the course of the program, the HRQoL for each patient was evaluated across 10 domains, including the ability to participate in social activities, cognitive function and the ability to manage one’s symptoms. Factors including physical function, anxiety, depression, fatigue and sleep quality were also measured. The researchers assessed the feasibility of the app using engagement data from the application during the trial period.

Participants were trained on the use of the app, which included a compulsive food and drink tracking component, in addition to a tracking component for bowel movements. The app also made it possible for patients to track symptoms and environmental factors.

In all, the analysis included 202 patients aged 17 to 82 years, of whom 20.1 percent had rheumatoid arthritis, 14.9 percent had long COVID, 10.9 percent had psoriatic arthritis, 8.9 percent had psoriasis, 6.4 percent had systemic lupus erythematosus, 5.9 percent had inflammatory bowel disease, 5.9 percent had multiple sclerosis and 5.4 percent had ankylosing spondylitis, while 23.3 percent reported “other” disease. On average, participants entered information into the app 7.6 times per day on 86 percent of the days measured.

According to the researchers, participants reported “statistically significant” improvements in all measured HRQoL domains, with patients demonstrating worse disease activity at baseline registering more improvement.

“This work demonstrates that a DCP is feasible and acceptable to a wide variety of individuals with [autoimmune diseases], [autoimmune disease]-related syndromes and long COVID,” wrote Nicole Bundy, MD, the medical director at Mymee, a trial platform for patients with rheumatic diseases, and the lead study author, and colleagues. “The personalized interventions generated by the program were associated with statistically significant, clinically meaningful improvements in multiple domains germane to HRQoL as measured by PROMIS29+MSx.”