Digital Connectedness in the Framingham Heart Study

New avenues of data collection such as eHealth and mobile technology have the potential to revolutionize the way large populations can be assessed and managed outside of standard research and clinical settings.

A digital connectedness survey was administered within the Framingham Heart Study from 2014 to 2015. The exposure was usage of the Internet, email, cell phones, and smartphones in relation to demographic and cardiovascular disease risk factors; all results were adjusted for age and sex. Among 8096 living study participants, 6503 (80.3%) completed the digital survey. Among survey responders, 5678 (87.4%) reported regular Internet use. Participants reporting regular Internet use were younger (aged 59.1 versus 76.5 years, P<0.0001), were more likely to be employed (70.3% versus 23.7%, P=0.002), and had more favorable cardiovascular disease risk factors than those who did not use the Internet (all P≤0.05). Overall, 5946 (92.1%) responders reported using cell phones. Among cell phone users, 3907 (67.8%) had smartphones. Smartphone users were younger (aged 55.4 versus 68.5 years, P<0.0001), more likely to be employed (81.1% versus 43.9%, P<0.0001) and to have a college education, and less likely to have hypertension (27.9% versus 55.7%, P=0.0002) than those who did not use smartphones.

Digital connectedness varies substantially by age; connected persons tend to be younger and better educated and to have more favorable cardiovascular disease risk factor profiles. Less than two-thirds of study participants who completed the survey had a smartphone. The generalizability of studies focused on digitally connected persons may have limitations.