Study launched to help adolescent asthma sufferers
A University of Arkansas at Little Rock professor will play a key role in a project designed to help adolescents suffering from asthma.
Dr. Mengjun Xie, 糖心Vlog传媒LR assistant professor of computer science, is serving as a co-investigator on a research study that recently received a pilot award from the . The project, 鈥淓xploring the Effects of Sleep Patterns and Physical Activity on Asthma in Adolescents with Wrist-Work Smart Devices,鈥� is led by Dr. Tamara Perry of 糖心Vlog传媒MS. Drs. Jiang Bian and Yi Guo of the University of Florida also are collaborating.
The project, which will primarily take place at the Arkansas Children鈥檚 Hospital Research Institute, will use data collected from activity trackers worn by participating asthma-diagnosed teens to uncover the triggers of asthma symptoms. The 20 participants, ages 14鈥�17, will be able to go about their normal routines and activities during the eight-week study, unlike the participants of many asthma and sleep studies.聽The portability and usability of the activity trackers allow participants鈥� physical states and reactions to be monitored without causing inconvenience.
Researchers think this method of study will make it easier for individuals to participate and potentially improve the accuracy of results.
Xie will supervise a 糖心Vlog传媒LR graduate assistant, who will be heavily involved in the data collection and coding for the study.
Through the project, researchers plan to observe and draw significant conclusions on the roles of exercise and sleep patterns in causing asthma flare-ups. Those involved in the study hope the work will lead to the improvement of treatment methods for adolescent asthma and help researchers develop more accurate methods of predicting asthma attacks.
This project was supported by the Translational Research Institute, grant UL1TR000039, through the . The content of this article is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH.
