JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

The usage of consumer wearables (CWs; for example, fitness trackers and smartwatches) in the population has increased enormously within the last decade. This has resulted in a large amount of digital person-generated health data that could be used to answer vital research questions. However, little is currently known about the usage of CWs to collect health data from the population living in Germany.

Objective:

The objective of this study was to describe the ownership of consumer wearables and their usage for the collection of health data from the adult population living in Germany as well as the motives for the collection of health data and the average wear times. In addition, we aimed to investigate sociodemographic and health- and behaviour-related differences between the group of CW users and the group of non-users.

Methods:

We used data from the nationally representative survey “German Health Update”, which was conducted through telephone interviews in 2021 and 2022. The final sample comprised 4,464 adults aged 18 years and older. We derived weighted prevalences for the usage of CWs and adjusted odds ratios for the association between the ownership and the usage of CWs with sociodemographic and health- and behaviour-related variables.

Results:

Of the adult population, 19.3% owned a CW, of whom 77.8% used their CW to collect health data (which corresponds to 15.0% of the adult population). Older people, compared with younger people and people with a lower level of physical activity, were less likely to own a CW and were less likely to use it for the collection of health data. In addition, people with a lower educational level and a poorer subjective health status were less likely to own a CW. Of the CW users who collected health data, 47.2% wore their CW during nocturnal sleep. The most frequently named motives for the collection of health data with a CW were “to observe my physical activity” (85.0%), “for fun” (79.0%) and “for support during exercising” (66.3%).

Conclusions:

Adults living in Germany and owning a CW are younger, healthier and more physically active and have a higher educational level than individuals who do not use a CW. This means that the population groups that would be in particular need of health care are not sufficiently represented in these health datasets. Researchers should consider the selectivity of CW users when planning to use CW health data to answer research questions.