Effectiveness of Mobile Applications to Quit Smoking: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Introduction: Tobacco is the leading cause of preventable mortality. The use of mobile phones has grown exponentially, becoming a powerful tool to be used in health care. Methods: In order to assess the effectiveness of mobile phones to quit smoking, we have carried out a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials evaluating interventions based on mobile applications for smartphones, that were not a smaller version of the same application, against other types of therapy. To address this, a bibliographic search was carried out in MEDLINE, EMBASE and COCHRANE LIBRARY. To obtain the combined effect, the relative risk and the 95% confidence interval were used. A heterogeneity and sensitivity analysis were also conducted. Results: A total of nine studies were identified, but five were excluded. Qualitative review was performed with four selected studies, but quantitative analysis was carried out for only three, given the impossibility of calculating the RR in one of the studies. After combining the results, an RR of 0.901 (95% CI: 0.57-1.423) was calculated comparing the effectiveness of mobile applications versus others type of interventions. This measure was robust, as shown by the sensitivity analysis. Conclusions: According to the results, it cannot be concluded that apps are effective for quitting tobacco. There are very few clinical trials published evaluating the effectiveness of mobile applications compared to other alternatives. Several clinical trials are still in progress, therefore their results have not been included in the present meta-analysis

The Impact of Digital Health on Smoking Cessation

Background: Smartphones have become useful tools for medicine, with the use of specific apps making it possible to bring health care closer to inaccessible areas, continuously monitor a patient's pathology at any time and place, promote healthy habits, and ultimately improve patients’ quality of life and the efficiency of the health care system. Since 2020, the use of smartphones has reached unprecedented levels. There are more than 350,000 health apps, according to a 2021 IQVIA Institute report, that address, among other things, the management of patient appointments; communication among different services or professionals; the promotion of lifestyle changes related to adopting healthy habits; and the monitoring of different pathologies and chronic conditions, including smoking cessation. The number of mobile apps for quitting smoking is high. As early as 2017, a total of 177 unique smoking cessation–relevant apps were identified in the iPhone App Store, 139 were identified in Google Play, 70 were identified in the BlackBerry app store, and 55 were identified in the Windows Phone Store, but very few have adequate scientific support. It seems clear that efforts are needed to assess the quality of these apps, as well as their effectiveness in different population groups, to have tools that offer added value to standard practices. Objective: This viewpoint aims to highlight the benefits of mobile health (mHealth) and its potential as an adjuvant tool in health care. Methods: A review of literature and other data sources was performed in order to show the current status of mobile apps that can offer support for smoking cessation. For this purpose, the PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane databases were explored between May and November 2022. Results: In terms of smoking cessation, mHealth has become a powerful coadjuvant tool that allows health workers to perform exhaustive follow-ups for the process of quitting tobacco and provide support anytime and anywhere. mHealth tools are effective for different groups of smokers (eg, pregnant women, patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, patients with mental illness, and the general population) and are cost-effective, generating savings for the health system. However, there are some patient characteristics that can predict the success of using mobile apps in the smoking cessation process, such as the lower age of patients, dependence on tobacco, the number of quit attempts, and the previous use of mobile apps, among others. Therefore, it is preferable to offer these tools to patients with a higher probability of quitting tobacco. Conclusions: mHealth is a promising tool for helping smokers in the smoking cessation process. There is a need for well-designed clinical studies and economic evaluations to jointly assess the effectiveness of new interventions in different population groups, as well as their impact on health care resource

Male starling floaters preferentially visit nests of males with reduced resource holding potential

Floaters are sexually mature individuals that are not able to reproduce by defending breeding resources. Floaters often visit active nests, probably to gather public information or to compete for a nesting site. We tested the hypothesis that floaters preferentially prospect nests in which they have a better chance of taking over, and that they do so by assessing the owners' resource holding potential (RHP). We manipulated the flight capacity of male and female breeders in a population of spotless starlings (Sturnus unicolor) by clipping two flight feathers per wing before egg laying, thus increasing their wing-load and likely impairing their condition. We subsequently monitored breeder and floater activity by means of transponder readers during the nestling period. We found that nests owned by wing-clipped males were visited by a greater number of male floaters than control nests. This effect was absent in the case of wing-clipped females. The number of male floaters also increased with increasing nestling age and number of parental visits. The experiment shows that male floaters preferentially prospect nests in which the owner shows a reduced RHP, a strategy that likely allows them to evict weak owners and take over their nests for future reproductive attempts.Research funded by grants from the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades to D.G. (CGL2017-83843-C2-1-P) and L.P.-R. (PGC2018-099596-B-I00, co-financed by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by ERDF—A way of making Europe).Peer reviewe

Male starling floaters preferentially prospect nest of males with reduced resource holding potential

Resumen del trabajo presentado al XVIII Congreso Nacional y XV Iberoamericano de Etología y Ecología Evolutiva, celebrados en Badajoz (España) del 31 de octubre al 3 de noviembre de 2023.Floaters are sexually mature individuals that are not able to reproduce in a given population. Floaters coexist with breeders and interact with them mainly through nest prospections, probably used to gather public information or to compete for a breeding site. We tested the hypothesis that floaters preferentially prospect nests in which they have a better chance of taking over, and that this information is obtained by observing nest owners and assessing their resource holding potential. We conducted a handicap experiment in a spotless starling (Sturnus unicolor) population, where individuals are marked with radiofrequency identification (RFID) tags. Since floaters of both sexes are abundant in this population, we manipulated male and female owners and predicted sex-specific responses. We manipulated the flight capacity of male and female breeders (only one sex manipulated by pair) by clipping two central primary feathers of each wing one month before egg laying, and registered the identity and number of visits by floaters during the peak of chick rearing period, when the prospective activity of floaters is maximal. By reducing flight capacity, we expected physical condition to decline and predicted that nests owned by handicapped individuals would be visited by a higher number of same-sex floaters than controls. The results show that nests owned by handicapped males were indeed visited by a greater number of different male floaters than the nests of control males. This effect was absent in the case of the visits of female floaters to nests of experimental females. This study shows that male floaters preferentially visit nests in which the owner shows a reduced resource holding potential. This strategy likely allows floater males to evict weak owners and take over their nests for future reproductive attempts.Peer reviewe

Experimentally impaired female condition does not affect biliverdin-based egg colour

Dataset 1: this is the dataset used for the eggshell coloration analysis. The dataset presents 145 columns and 197 lines. Each line represents the data relative to a single starlin egg considered for the analysis. Column 1 is the original ID of the egg in the field noterbook. Column 2 is the individual code for each breeding attempt (i.d. every time a first egg is found in a nest). Column 3 is the nest in which each egg has been found. Col. 4 is the tratment to which the female laying the eggs has been subjected: H, handicap; C, control. Col. 5 contains the date of measurement of the eggs. Col. 6 contains the date of laying of each egg (date of April 2020). Col. 7 the clutch size of each breeding event. Cols. 8-10 the lenght (mm), widht (mm) and the calculated volume (mm3) of each egg. Please refer to the main text for more information about egg size calculation. Cols. 11-15 contain the informations about the laying female (IDs and measurements). Cols. 16 - 135 contain the repeated measurements of eggshell coloration as stored in the spectrophotometer and the relative values of brightness, BGC, hue and chroma. The x and y are used to distinguish the first from the second spectra values. Cols. 136-139 contain the values of the mean value of brightness, hue, chroma and blue-green chroma for the repeated measures (x and y). Cols. 140-142 contain the main, the standard deviation and the maximum values of BGC for each nest. Cols. 143-145 contain the main, the standard deviation and the maximum values of BGC x100. Dataset 2: this dataset contains the data of the females recorded before and after the laying. Col. 1 and 2 contain the ID of the female (ring number and chip code, respectively) Col.3 the tratment to which the female laying the eggs has been subjected: H, handicap; C, control. Col. 4 the nest in which the eggs have been laid. Cols. 5 and 6 contain the dates in which the female has been captured (before and after laying the eggs, respectively). Cols. 7 and 8 contain the day counts of the corrispective date, starting the day of the laying (April 11th). Col. 9 and 10 contain the initials of the observer of the first and second capture. Col. 11 contains the coded age of the oldest nestling: P5, chick of 5 days; P6, chick of 6 days... Cols. 12 and 13 contain the weights recorded in the first and in the second capture (pre and post laying, respectively). Cols. 14 and 15 contain the wing (mm) and the tarsus (mm) measurements of the females, recorded in the first capture.It has been proposed that blue-green egg coloration is a condition-dependent female sexual trait that may modify paternal care in a post-mating sexual selection scenario. This pattern may arise because the pigment responsible for eggshell colouration (biliverdin) may be a costly and limited resource, whose availability is linked to female health state. Thus, it can be predicted that females whose condition is compromised should be constrained in their capacity to deposit biliverdin in the eggshell, thus producing paler clutches. To test this hypothesis, we performed a handicapping experiment by clipping some feathers of female spotless starlings before egg laying and measuring the colour of their clutches. We expected the handicapping treatment to increase flying costs, impairing female overall condition and resulting in paler clutches. Our experiment was successful in lowering the weight gain of handicapped with respect to control females. However, in contrast to our expectations, we found no effect of the treatment on eggshell colouration. Eggshell colour varied along the laying order, with initial eggs of the laying sequence being relatively paler than the rest of the clutch, but this pattern was not different between experimental groups. Despite a very similar methodology, our results differ from a previous study and offers no support to the post mating sexual selected hypothesis, questioning the general applicability of the sexual selection role of eggshell coloration.Peer reviewe

Experimentally impaired female condition does not affect biliverdin-based egg colour

It has been proposed that blue-green egg coloration is a condition-dependent female sexual trait that may modify paternal care in a post-mating sexual selection scenario. This pattern may arise because the pigment responsible for eggshell colouration (biliverdin) may be a costly and limited resource, whose availability is linked to female health state. Thus, it can be predicted that females whose condition is compromised should be constrained in their capacity to deposit biliverdin in the eggshell, thus producing paler clutches. To test this hypothesis, we performed a handicapping experiment by clipping some feathers of female spotless starlings before egg laying and measuring the colour of their clutches. We expected the handicapping treatment to increase flying costs, impairing female overall condition and resulting in paler clutches. Our experi ment was successful in lowering the weight gain of handicapped with respect to control females. However, in contrast to our expectations, we found no effect of the treatment on eggshell colouration. Eggshell colour varied along the laying order, with initial eggs of the laying sequence being relatively paler than the rest of the clutch, but this pattern was not different between experimental groups. Despite a very similar methodology, our results differ from a previous study on the same species and offer no support to the post mating sexual selected hypothesis, questioning the general applicability of the sexual selection role of eggshell coloration.This research was jointly funded by research grants from the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades to LP-R (PGC2018-099596-B-I00, co-financed by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by ERDF - A way of making Europe and DG (CGL2017-83843-C2-1-P).Peer reviewe

Supplemental material from Male starling floaters preferentially visit nests of males with reduced resource holding potential

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How does female pre-laying condition affect egg production, yolk composition and offspring phenotype? An experimental test in a wild passerine

Resumen del trabajo presentado al XVIII Congreso Nacional y XV Iberoamericano de Etología y Ecología Evolutiva, celebrados en Badajoz (España) del 31 de octubre al 3 de noviembre de 2023.The number, size and composition of eggs are key components of reproductive investment and mediators of maternal effects in oviparous species. The number and size of eggs in a clutch directly determine the number and viability of the offspring. Similarly, yolk components, including hormones (e.g., androgens) and antioxidants (e.g., carotenoids, vitamins), can substantially affect offspring phenotype. External and internal factors may influence the female's ability to maximize offspring fitness through these maternal components of breeding investment. We studied how female pre-laying condition affects these variables in wild spotless starlings (Sturnus unicolor). We experimentally handicapped female flight performance one month before egg laying by clipping some flight feathers –reducing their condition– and studied the impact on her oxidative status, egg number, egg size, yolk quality (composition and oxidative damage) and offspring development. We found that although handicapped females laid the same number of eggs as control females, their eggs (and yolks) were smaller. Female treatment did not significantly affect yolk concentrations of androgens and carotenoids. However, eggs laid by handicapped females showed higher concentrations of vitamin A and slightly lower levels of vitamin E, as well as slightly higher levels of yolk lipid peroxidation as compared to eggs laid by control females. Finally, there was a negative effect of female treatment on nestling growth. These findings suggest that females in poor condition adjust their investment in eggs by reducing egg size and might transmit their poor condition to the offspring through the yolk oxidative damage. However, they might attempt to compensate for the resulting negative impact on their offspring by increasing the allocation of vitamin A to the eggs. This research sheds light on the complex interplay between the female's condition and her reproductive investment strategy to ensure the fitness and viability of her offspring.Peer reviewe

Estimación de la tasa de cebas en el estornino negro (Sturnus unicolor) mediante identificación por radiofrecuencia (RFID): diferencias sexuales a lo largo de la temporada de cría

Resumen del trabajo presentado al XXI Congreso de Anillamiento Científico de Aves, celebrado en Jaén del 3 la 7 de diciembre de 2021.Peer reviewe