Public Health

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Digital Health
• Public Health

Background:

• Latin America faces an accelerated aging population, increasing the burden of cardiovascular diseases and dementia in older adults.
• Mobile health (mHealth) applications present a promising avenue for promoting healthy lifestyles among the elderly.
• Chile lacks mHealth applications offering multimodal lifestyle interventions, despite evidence supporting their effectiveness.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the development and validation of the mHealth NeoMayor application.
• To assess the impact of a multimodal lifestyle intervention delivered via mHealth on the health of older adults.

Main Methods:

• The NeoMayor app was developed through 26 co-creation sessions with users, expert consultations, and literature review, followed by app development.
• A pilot study involved 60 independent, cognitively normal older adults who used the NeoMayor app for two months.
• Clinical and cognitive assessments were conducted pre- and post-intervention to evaluate health outcomes.

Main Results:

• Participants demonstrated significant improvements in cardiovascular health, with the Life´s Essential 8 index increasing from 64 to 68 (p < 0.001).
• Key health markers improved, including reduced systolic blood pressure (10 mmHg), waist circumference (6 cm), weight, and fasting glucose levels.
• Physical activity, physical performance, and dietary scores also showed significant improvements, indicating enhanced lifestyle behaviors.

Conclusions:

• NeoMayor is the first mHealth tool in Chile developed and validated to promote healthy lifestyles, cardiovascular, and brain health in older adults.
• The app demonstrated significant improvements in health outcomes and lifestyle behaviors among participants.
• NeoMayor offers an effective, accessible, and affordable solution for promoting healthy aging in older populations.