Validation of the efficacy of a personalized information-provision and exercise-coaching app on the quality of life of menopausal women

Objectives

Menopausal symptoms severely impact women's quality of life (QoL). Digital health interventions provide an accessible, personalized alternative for managing menopausal symptoms. In this study, we validated the Menopause Assistant Manager (MAMA®; Hudit, Seoul, S. Korea) app developed to provide personalized information, exercise coaching, and management of appointments and medications to menopausal women, and evaluated its efficacy on their QoL.

Study design

This nonrandomized interventional trial enrolled 48 peri- and postmenopausal women into experimental (MAMA) and control (Waitlist) groups (n = 24 each). Participants in the MAMA group used the app for 8 weeks, whereas the Waitlist group received no intervention. Both groups continued their usual treatments.

Main outcome measures

Clinical assessments at baseline and study completion included the World Health Organization Quality of Life Brief Version (WHOQOL-BREF), Menopause Rating Scale, Patient Health Questionnaire-9, Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), Patient Health Questionnaire-15 (PHQ-15), Menopause Emotional Symptom Questionnaire, and Subjective Memory Complaints Questionnaire.

Results

Compared with the Waitlist group, the MAMA group showed postintervention improvements in WHOQOL-BREF physical health (F = 4.84, P = .03) and environmental (F = 5.01, P = .03) domains and GAD-7 (F = 5.53, P = .02) and PHQ-15 (F = 4.14, P = .048) scores. Changes in WHOQOL-BREF physical health scores negatively correlated with PHQ-15 scores (ρ = −0.53, P = .004).

Conclusion

By increasing treatment accessibility, the app improved physical and environmental QoL and reduced anxiety and somatic symptoms. App-based exercise coaching alleviated somatic symptoms, and the in-app psychological content reduced anxiety by normalizing menopausal symptoms, providing accurate information, decreasing uncertainty, and improving symptom perception.

Trial registration

Clinical Research Information Service KCT 0008603; https://cris.nih.go.kr/cris/search/detailSearch.do?seq=25078&status=5&seq_group=25078&search_page=M.