Multimodal Telemonitoring for Weight Reduction in Patients With Sleep Apnea A Randomized Controlled Trial

BACKGROUND: Telemonitoring the use of CPAP devices and remote feedback on device data effectively optimizes CPAP adherence in patients with OSA.RESEARCH QUESTION: Can expanding the scope of telemonitoring and remote feedback to body weight (BW), BP, and physical activity enhance efforts for BW reduction in Patients with OSA receiving CPAP?STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Participants were recruited from patients at 16 sleep centers in Japan with OSA and obesity who were receiving CPAP therapy. Obesity was defined as a BMI of >= 25 kg/m2, based on Japanese obesity guidelines. Implementation of CPAP tele-monitoring was enhanced with electronic scales, BP monitors, and pedometers that could transmit data from devices wirelessly. Participants were randomized to the multimodal tel-emonitoring group or the usual CPAP telemonitoring group and were followed up for 6 months. Attending physicians provided monthly telephone feedback calls to the usual CPAP telemonitoring group on CPAP data obtained remotely. In the multimodal tele-monitoring group, physicians additionally encouraged participants to reduce their BW, after sharing the remotely obtained data on BW, BP, and step count. The primary outcome was set as >= 3% BW reduction from baseline. RESULTS: One hundred sixty-eight participants (BMI, 31.7 +/- 4.9 kg/m2) completed the study, and >= 3% BW reduction occurred in 33 of 84 participants (39.3%) and 21 of 84 participants (25.0%) in the multimodal telemonitoring and usual CPAP telemonitoring groups, respectively (P = .047). Whereas no significant differences were found between the two groups in the change in office and home BP, daily step counts during the study period were significantly higher in the multimodal telemonitoring group than in the usual CPAP telemonitoring group (4,767 steps/d [interquartile range (IQR), 2,864-6,617 steps/d] vs 3,592 steps/d [IQR, 2,117-5,383 steps/d]; P = .02) INTERPRETATION: Multimodal telemonitoring may enhance BW reduction efforts in patients with OSA and obesity.

Automated summary

This study investigated the impact of expanding the scope of remote monitoring to include body weight, blood pressure, and physical activity on weight reduction in OSA patients receiving CPAP therapy. The results showed that multimodal telemonitoring enhanced weight reduction efforts, especially in promoting step counts.