Smartphones Help Relieve Asthma Management Stress

A new smartphone app allows people suffering from asthma to track and manage their condition.

Developed by the University of Nottingham and GlaxoSmithKline, the MyAsthma app captures current environmental information--such as air temperature, pollution and pollen levels--as well as activity data to allow users to record and analyze different factors that they deem to trigger their asthma. The app can also help them keep a record of asthma attacks and symptoms, including date and known triggers, inhaler use, and peak flow and spirometry readings.

The app links to Apple Health, leading fitness trackers, and other health apps. Users can also access the clinically validated Asthma Control Test (ACT) or the Childhood Asthma Control Test (C-ACT) in order to monitor their asthma control every 30 days. The resultant personal asthma summary can also be shared with healthcare professionals, who can track up to five people’s conditions on their own smartphone. The MyAsthma app is available on the iTunes App Store free of charge, and is not intended to diagnose asthma or provide advice on medication.

“This app has the potential to be a significant step forward in asthma self-management. It will help people take control of their own asthma by improving their understanding of what triggers poor asthma control,” said associate clinical professor Dominick Shaw, MD, of the Nottingham respiratory research unit. “Good self-management in asthma has many benefits and is associated with improved outcomes, including fewer attacks, unplanned primary care visits, and hospital admissions.”

“With MyAsthma our aim has been to use advances in smartphone and connected technologies to advance asthma patients’ understanding of their condition, but also to help them share information with their healthcare team,” said Kai Gait, global digital director of GSK. “GSK’s goal is to help all people with asthma live every breath. We believe that enabling patients to take control of their disease is one of the best ways to help them achieve improved health so that asthma doesn’t need to stand in their way.”

Asthma is a common long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and bronchospasm. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath. These episodes may occur a few times a day or a few times per week. Diagnosis is usually based on the pattern of symptoms, response to therapy over time, and spirometry.