Effects Of A Pilot Mobile-app Physical Activity Intervention On Physical And Mental Health In PLWHIV

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effects of a 12-week mobile-app based physical activity (PA) intervention on physical health and mental health in people living with HIV (PLWHIV). METHODS: Forty-one participants (63.4% F; 46.8 y/old) were randomly assigned to either a mobile app-based PA group or health education control (CON) group. Participants in the PA group were guided through aerobic and resistance exercise sessions through the mobile app with the goal of increasing Moderate-to-vigorous PA by 150 mins/week. Participants in the CON group received weekly health education materials through the mobile app. Physical and mental health measures included depressive symptoms (BDI-II), perception of general health, number of days of poor health, and number of days of poor physical and mental health in the past month. Body fat percentage (BF%) was measured using air displacement plethysmography and exercise capacity through a treadmill 6-minute walk test (6MWT). PA was measured using wrist accelerometers (Actigraph GT9x) for 7 days before the beginning of the study and during the final week. All measures were evaluated at the study's beginning (Time 1; T1) and end (Time 2; T2). Repeated measures ANCOVA analyses were employed to test for differences between groups. Paired-samples t-Tests were used to test for differences between T1 and T2 in each group. RESULTS: There were no significant differences between groups in any of the physical or mental health variables, BF% or 6MWT. There were no significant differences in PA between groups (PA = 114.7 ± 49.8 mins/day vs. CON = 101.7 ± 46.0 mins/day; p = .80). The PA group experienced significant improvements in the number of poor mental health days (T1 = 4.00 days ±3.0 vs. T2 = 1.6 ± 2.3 days; p = 0.02) and a trend towards improvement in the number of poor health days (T1 = 3.00 ± 5.1 days vs. T2 = .7 ± 1.9 days; p = 0.53). The health education group experienced significant improvements in weight (T1 = 162.7 ± 30.1 pounds vs. T2 = 161.1 ± 29.9 pounds; p = 0.043) and BF% (T1 = 30.4 ± 12.8% vs. T2 = 29.1 ± 13.3%; p = 0.004). CONCLUSIONS: A mobile app-based PA intervention may lead to improvements in mental health in PLWHIV. In contrast, a mobile app-based health behavior intervention appears to improve body composition, even without increases in PA. Results need to be taken with caution given the pilot nature of the study. Supported by: PSC-CUNY TRADB 52-113