Publications by authors named "Carmelo Velardo"

Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to test the effectiveness of sending text messages to promote medication adherence in adults with type 2 diabetes, informing a future large-scale trial in the UK.
  • Conducted across multiple primary care centers, 209 participants were randomly assigned to receive text messages or usual care, with a goal to retain over 80% of participants for follow-up at 6 months.
  • A total of 12,734 messages were sent, with a high recruitment rate of 60-80 participants monthly, and baseline health data was available for most participants, setting the stage for the measurement of outcomes after 6 months.
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Article Synopsis
  • Inadequate management of elevated blood pressure during pregnancy is linked to increased maternal deaths, highlighting the need for better hypertension management.
  • A clinical trial involving 2,441 pregnant individuals at higher risk for preeclampsia assessed whether self-monitoring of blood pressure (BP) with telemonitoring improved early detection of hypertension.
  • Results showed no significant difference in the time to first recorded hypertension between those using self-monitoring and those receiving usual care, indicating that self-monitoring did not provide additional benefits in this context.
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Importance: Inadequate management of elevated blood pressure is a significant contributing factor to maternal deaths. The role of blood pressure self-monitoring in pregnancy in improving clinical outcomes for the pregnant individual and infant is unclear.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of blood pressure self-monitoring, compared with usual care alone, on blood pressure control and other related maternal and infant outcomes, in individuals with pregnancy hypertension.

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Background: Type 2 diabetes is a common lifelong condition that affects over 400 million people worldwide. The use of effective medications and active self-management can reduce the risk of serious complications. However, people often have concerns when starting new medications and face difficulties in taking their medications regularly.

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Article Synopsis
  • * From May 2019 to March 2020, out of 281 identified patients, only 26 were successfully recruited to use a tablet, pulse oximeter, and activity monitor to aid their COPD self-management post-discharge.
  • * High dropout rates were noted, with over half of the participants withdrawing within four weeks of discharge, indicating difficulties in retaining patients for digital interventions aimed at improving COPD management after hospitalization.
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Background: Diabetes is a highly prevalent long-term condition with high morbidity and mortality rates. People with diabetes commonly worry about their diabetes medicines and do not always take them regularly as prescribed. This can lead to poor diabetes control.

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Background: Successful management of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) reduces the risk of morbidity in women and newborns. A woman's blood glucose readings and risk factors are used by clinical staff to make decisions regarding the initiation of pharmacological treatment in women with GDM. Mobile health (mHealth) solutions allow the real-time follow-up of women with GDM and allow timely treatment and management.

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Introduction: This technology report introduces an innovative risk communication tool developed to support providers in communicating diabetes-related risks more intuitively to people with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Methods: The development process involved three main steps: (1) selecting the content and format of the risk message; (2) developing a digital interface; and (3) assessing the usability and usefulness of the tool with clinicians through validated questionnaires.

Results: The tool calculates personalized risk information based on a validated simulation model (United Kingdom Prospective Diabetes Study Outcomes Model 2) and delivers it using more intuitive risk formats, such as "effective heart age" to convey cardiovascular risks.

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Background: Having a stroke or transient ischaemic attack increases the risk of a subsequent one, especially with high blood pressure (BP). Home-based BP management can be effective at maintaining optimal BP.

Objective: To describe the optimization of a digital intervention for stroke patients and the value of participant diversity, using the person-based approach (PBA) and integral patient and public involvement (PPI).

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Background: Hip fracture is common, affecting 20% of women and 10% of men during their lifetime. The trajectory of patients' recovery as they transition from the acute hospital setting to their usual residence is poorly understood. Recently, the use of activity trackers to monitor physical activity during recovery has been investigated as a way to explore this trajectory.

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Objective: The impact of heart failure (HF) on perceived and objectively measured levels of physical activity (PA) can inform risk stratification and treatment recommendation. We aimed to compare self-reported and objectively measured PA levels in a large sample of participants with and without HF.

Methods: A validated PA questionnaire was used to estimate self-reported weekly PA among 1600 participants with HF and 387 580 participants without HF.

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Introduction: Self-monitoring of blood pressure (BP) in pregnancy could improve the detection and management of pregnancy hypertension, while also empowering and engaging women in their own care. Two linked trials aim to evaluate whether BP self-monitoring in pregnancy improves the detection of raised BP during higher risk pregnancies (BUMP 1) and whether self-monitoring reduces systolic BP during hypertensive pregnancy (BUMP 2).

Methods And Analyses: Both are multicentre, non-masked, parallel group, randomised controlled trials.

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Background: Hypertensive disorders in pregnancy, particularly pre-eclampsia, pose a substantial health risk for both maternal and foetal outcomes. The BUMP (Blood Pressure Self-Monitoring in Pregnancy) interventions are being tested in a trial. They aim to facilitate the early detection of raised blood pressure through self-monitoring.

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Introduction: Type 2 diabetes is common, affecting over 400 million people worldwide. Risk of serious complications can be reduced through use of effective treatments and active self-management. However, people are often concerned about starting new medicines and face difficulties in taking them regularly.

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Background: Comorbid anxiety and depression can add to the complexity of managing treatment for people living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Monitoring mood has the potential to identify individuals who might benefit from additional support and treatment.

Objective: We used data from the sElf-management anD support proGrammE (EDGE) trial to examine: (1) the extent to which the mood-monitoring components of a mobile health system for patients with COPD were used by participants; (2) the levels of anxiety and depression symptoms among study participants; (3) the extent to which videos providing advice about coping with low mood were viewed; and (4) the characteristics of participants with differing levels of mood and utilization of mood monitoring.

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Objectives: To assess the feasibility in routine primary care consultation and investigate the effect on risk recall and self-management of a new type of risk communication intervention based on behavioural economics ("nudge-based") for people with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Methods: Forty adults with poorly controlled T2DM (HbA1c > 7.5%) were randomized to receive a personalized, nudge-based risk communication intervention (n = 20) or standard care (n = 20).

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Traditional heart failure markers fail to reliably predict heart-failure related hospitalisations and deaths. Multi- sensor patch data can provide an objective insight into activity and sleep patterns of patients and may therefore improve the performance of current risk-quantification algorithms. This work aimed to establish the feasibility of collecting multi-sensor patch data from heart failure patients and to perform an initial analysis of activity and sleep patterns of heart failure patients in relation to disease severity.

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Step counting from smart-phones allows a wide range of applications related to fitness and health. Estimating steps from phones' accelerometers is challenging because of the multitude of ways a smart-phone can be carried. We focus our work on the windowed peak detection algorithm, which has previously been shown to be accurate and efficient and thus suitable for mobile devices.

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Background: In response to concerns that the International Association of Diabetes in Pregnancy Study Group (IADPSG) criteria labeled too many women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) without evidence of clinical or economic benefit, NICE recommended a change in diagnostic criteria in 2015.

Aim: To compare diabetes associated maternal and neonatal complications in pregnancies complicated by GDM diagnosed using IADPSG criteria only, to those with GDM diagnosed using both IADPSG and NICE 2015 criteria. GDM screening was risk factor based.

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Background: Though many overweight and obese adults attempt to lose weight without formal support, little is known about the strategies used in self-directed weight loss attempts. We set out to assess cognitive and behavioural strategies for weight loss and their associations with weight change.

Methods: Prospective, web-based cohort study of overweight UK adults (BMI≥25kg/m2) trying to lose weight through behaviour change.

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Unlabelled: Hypertension affects 1 in 10 pregnancies, often persisting postpartum, when antihypertensive requirements may vary substantially. This unmasked, randomized controlled trial evaluated the feasibility and effects on blood pressure (BP) of self-management of postpartum hypertension. Women with gestational hypertension or preeclampsia, requiring postnatal antihypertensive treatment, were randomized to self-management or usual care.

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Background: Treatment of hyperglycemia in women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is associated with improved maternal and neonatal outcomes and requires intensive clinical input. This is currently achieved by hospital clinic attendance every 2 to 4 weeks with limited opportunity for intervention between these visits.

Objective: We conducted a randomized controlled trial to determine whether the use of a mobile phone-based real-time blood glucose management system to manage women with GDM remotely was as effective in controlling blood glucose as standard care through clinic attendance.

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Background: We conducted a randomized controlled trial of a digital health system supporting clinical care through monitoring and self-management support in community-based patients with moderate to very severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of a fully automated Internet-linked, tablet computer-based system of monitoring and self-management support (EDGE' sElf-management anD support proGrammE) in improving quality of life and clinical outcomes.

Methods: We compared daily use of EDGE with usual care for 12 months.

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Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive, chronic respiratory disease with a significant socioeconomic burden. Exacerbations, the sudden and sustained worsening of symptoms, can lead to hospitalization and reduce quality of life. Major limitations of previous telemonitoring interventions for COPD include low compliance, lack of consensus on what constitutes an exacerbation, limited numbers of patients, and short monitoring periods.

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