Multimodal telemonitoring may aid in weight loss efforts by patients with obstructive sleep apnea and obesity, according to a study published in Chest.

“The present study shows that among obstructive sleep apnea patients with obesity, implementation of a remote feedback program on multimodal self-monitored data can enhance body weight reduction compared to feedback on CPAP adherence only,” KimihikoMurase, MD, from the department of respiratory medicine at the Graduate School of Medicine at Kyoto University, Tokyo, and colleagues wrote.

Researchers recruited 168 participants with OSA and obesity (mean BMI, 31.7 kg/m²) from 16 sleep centers in Japan. CPAP telemonitoring implementation was enhanced with electronic scales, BP monitors and pedometers that transmitted data wirelessly from devices. Participants were randomly assigned to a multimodal telemonitoring group (n = 84) or a usual CPAP telemonitoring group (n = 84), and were followed for 6 months.

Attending physicians completed monthly telephone feedback calls to the usual CPAP telemonitoring group on remotely obtained CPAP data, and physicians encouraged those in the multimodal telemonitoring group to reduce their body weight after presenting remotely obtained body weight, BP and step count data.

The primary outcome was a body weight reduction of 3% or more from baseline.

Body weight reduction of 3% or more occurred in 39.3% of participants in the multimodal telemonitoring group and 25% of participants in the usual CPAP telemonitoring group (P = .047).

Researchers reported higher daily step counts among participants in the multimodal telemonitoring group compared with those in the usual CPAP telemonitoring group (4,767 vs. 3,592 steps per day; P = .02).

The researchers observed no significant differences between both groups in office and home BP.

“Further studies are needed to examine what behavioral changes induced by remote monitoring and feedback lead to more effective weight loss, whether the effects of this strategy can be sustained and cost-effective for a longer period, and whether the present result can be replicated in different ethnic cohorts and health care systems,” the researchers wrote.