JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Protocols assessing the effect of a nutritional intervention on health commonly involve a series of face-to-face meetings between participants and study staff that can weigh on resources, participant availabilities and even increase dropout rates. Digital tools are increasingly added to protocols to facilitate study conduct but fully digitally run studies are still scarce.

Objective:

The purpose of the current real-life consumer study was to develop a mobile application to conduct a 100% digital study testing the efficacy of a hydrolyzed cartilage matrix supplement on joint discomfort in a heterogeneous group of active consumers.

Methods:

A mobile app using Visual Analog Scale (VAS) was specifically developed to monitor the variation in joint pain after exercise by the study participants. A total of 201 healthy and physically active adult women and men (18 to 72 years old) with joint pain completed the consumer study over a period of 16 weeks. Participants blindly received study supplements and took a daily regimen of 1 g of hydrolyzed cartilage matrix (HCM-G) or 1g of maltodextrin (placebo group; P-G) for 12 weeks while weekly logging joint pain scores in the app, followed by a wash out period during which participants continued reporting their joint pain scores until the end of week 16.

Results:

Joint pain was reduced within 3 weeks of taking a low dosage of HCM (1g/day), regardless of gender, age group and activity intensity. After stopping supplementation, joint pain scores gradually increased but still remained significantly lower than placebo after 4 weeks of washout.

Conclusions:

Overall, the current investigation showed the value of using digital tools for consumer research and confirmed that the oral intake of a hydrolyzed cartilage matrix led to a reduction of joint pain in active adults of different age groups and lifestyles in a real-life setting.