Decoding the Future of Health: Tom Brook's Pioneering Research on Genetic Insights at UIZ.CARE
In the dynamic landscape of healthcare, the convergence of genomics and digital technology is paving the way for a future where medical care is not just about treating symptoms but is fundamentally personalized, predictive, and participatory. Tom Brook, a visionary researcher at UIZ.CARE, recently completed a comprehensive research project that delves deep into genetic susceptibility, particularly in the context of COVID-19 and influenza. This blog post will unravel the layers of Tom's groundbreaking research and its transformative implications for personalized healthcare at UIZ.CARE.
Unveiling the Research Journey
Tom's research at UIZ.CARE was meticulously structured as a multi-phased project spanning six weeks. The goal was ambitious yet clear: to explore, collate, and analyze genetic factors that influence susceptibility to viruses like COVID-19 and influenza and integrate these insights into UIZ.CARE's state-of-the-art digital healthcare platform. Here's how the journey unfolded:
Phase 1: Foundation and Literature Review
The research commenced with a deep dive into understanding UIZ.CARE's operational ethos, with a steadfast focus on prioritizing the patient's needs. Tom embarked on a comprehensive literature review to identify genetic loci and genes associated with susceptibility to COVID-19. The intention was crystal clear – to harness these genetic insights to enhance the diagnostic capabilities of UIZ.CARE.
Phase 2: Analytical Deep Dive
Progressing into the subsequent weeks, the research expanded into the realms of influenza and other relevant genetic factors. A pivotal component of this phase was the development of a polygenic risk score (PRS) model. This model aimed to quantify cumulative genetic risk by weaving together genetic data with factors like age and sex, thereby offering a nuanced risk assessment for each patient.
Phase 3: Conceptualization and Future Roadmap
In the concluding phase, Tom's research transcended from analysis to conceptualization. The focus shifted to developing a risk stratification algorithm that integrates genetic and non-genetic factors, culminating in a personalized diagnosis. Discussions around next-generation sequencing and exome sequencing highlighted the futuristic advancements that could further personalize UIZ.CARE's platform.
Key Insights from "Unlocking Our Inner Code"
Complementing the research, the article "Unlocking Our Inner Code: Integrating Genomics into Personalised Digital Healthcare" offered profound insights into the broader context of digital healthcare and genomics. Here are some pivotal takeaways:
The Promise of Personalization: The integration of genomic screening and digital applications like UIZ.CARE is a testament to the evolving paradigm of healthcare – one that is preventive, predictive, and deeply personalized.
Digital Health as a Catalyst: Technologies like cloud databases and mobile apps are not just tools but catalysts, making the ethical and safe implementation of genomic insights a tangible reality.
The Future is Person-Centric: The fusion of genomics and digital health is sculpting a future where healthcare is tailored to the individual's unique genetic makeup, making it not just reactive but also proactive and participatory.
Looking Ahead: The Future of Personalized Healthcare at UIZ.CARE
Tom Brook's research is not just a series of findings; it's a beacon that lights the path forward for UIZ.CARE and personalized healthcare. As UIZ.CARE continues to innovate, it does so with a commitment to:
Fostering Integration: Embracing new technologies by showcasing their complementary nature to existing healthcare practices and emphasizing the tangible benefits they bring to the table.
Harnessing the Power of Genomics: Pushing the boundaries of personalized care with advanced genomic technologies and sophisticated models like the PRS, enhancing the precision and personalization of healthcare services.
Navigating Challenges with Foresight: Navigating the ethical, practical, and clinical challenges with a forward-thinking approach, ensuring that the translation of genomic discoveries into practice is responsible, ethical, and centered around patient well-being.
Tom Brook's research is a testament to UIZ.CARE's visionary approach to healthcare. It embodies the spirit of innovation, the commitment to patient-centric care, and the relentless pursuit of leveraging technology to make healthcare not just a service, but a personalized journey for every individual. As we stand on the brink of this healthcare revolution, UIZ.CARE, powered by insights like those from Tom's research, is leading the charge into a future where healthcare is as unique as the DNA that defines us.
Embracing the Future of Personalized Healthcare: The Crucial Role of Self-Awareness
The landscape of healthcare is experiencing a paradigm shift towards personalization, marking a departure from traditional, one-size-fits-all treatment models. This shift is not just about technological advancements or new treatment protocols; it's fundamentally about understanding and catering to the unique health needs of each individual. Personalized healthcare represents a more empathetic, efficient, and effective approach to health and wellness. Central to the concept of personalized care is the idea of self-awareness. When patients are acutely aware of their physical, emotional, and mental states, they can provide healthcare professionals with crucial insights into their health. This level of self-awareness is a cornerstone for accurately communicating health concerns, leading to more effective and individualized treatment plans.
Self-Awareness: The Foundation of Personalized Care
At the heart of personalized healthcare lies the concept of self-awareness. Self-awareness in health refers to an individual's ability to understand and articulate their physical, emotional, and mental states. This understanding is crucial for several reasons:
Accurate Health Reporting: Self-aware individuals can provide more precise information about their symptoms, lifestyle, and health concerns, leading to more accurate diagnoses and treatment plans.
Proactive Health Management: With greater self-awareness, individuals are more likely to engage in proactive health management, including preventive measures and early detection of health issues.
Enhanced Patient-Provider Communication: Self-awareness fosters better communication between patients and healthcare providers, making consultations more efficient and productive.
Fostering Self-Awareness for Better Health Outcomes
To maximize the benefits of personalized healthcare, both the healthcare industry and individuals must work towards enhancing self-awareness:
Educational Initiatives: Health education should focus on helping individuals understand their bodies and minds better. This includes awareness about common symptoms, mental health, and the importance of regular health check-ups.
Technology and Tools: Wearable devices, health apps, and online platforms can play a significant role in aiding individuals to monitor and understand various health metrics.
Encouraging Open Dialogue: Creating environments where individuals feel comfortable discussing their health openly can significantly improve self-awareness.
The Impact of Self-Awareness in Personalized Healthcare
The impact of self-awareness in personalized healthcare cannot be overstated. It leads to:
Improved Health Outcomes: With accurate information and proactive health management, personalized care can lead to better health outcomes.
Patient Empowerment: When individuals understand their health better, they feel more in control and empowered in their healthcare journey.
Efficient Healthcare Delivery: Enhanced self-awareness can lead to fewer unnecessary tests and procedures, making healthcare delivery more efficient.
Embracing Gen Z: A New Era in Healthcare Engagement
Gen Z, the digital-native generation, is set to play a pivotal role in the adoption and advancement of personalized healthcare. Growing up in an era where information is at their fingertips, Gen Z individuals are more likely to be proactive, informed, and engaged in their health care.
Tech-Savvy and Informed: Gen Z's familiarity with technology makes them ideal recipients of digital health tools and telehealth services. They are more inclined to use health apps, wearable devices, and online resources to monitor and understand their health.
Preference for Personalization and Transparency: Gen Z values personalized experiences and transparency in their interactions, including healthcare. They expect healthcare services to be tailored to their unique needs and life circumstances, a demand that aligns perfectly with the personalized care model.
Communication Styles and Preferences: This generation prefers quick, clear, and digital forms of communication. Healthcare providers need to adapt by offering services like online consultations, digital health records, and AI-powered diagnostic tools.
The success of personalized healthcare largely hinges on the self-awareness of individuals. As we move forward, it is imperative for the healthcare industry, educators, and technology developers to collaborate in nurturing this self-awareness. By doing so, we pave the way for a healthcare system that is not only more responsive and effective but also deeply respectful of the individuality of each patient. This is the future of healthcare — one that honors the unique health journey of every person. As we embrace a more personalized approach to healthcare, the industry must also adapt to the preferences and behaviors of Gen Z. By doing so, we not only cater to their specific needs but also set the stage for a more dynamic, responsive, and efficient healthcare system. This transition to personalized care, underpinned by technological innovation and a deeper understanding of individual health needs, heralds a new era in healthcare that promises better outcomes for all.
AI-powered Meal Planning in Gen Z: Vegetarianism and AI-Assisted Health in Gen Z (18-26) to Reduce Obesity Levels
In June 2023, UIZ.CARE, in collaboration with EASO, embarked on a mission to utilize AI solutions like UIZ.CARE for tackling the obesity challenge in Europe. This initiative led to the commissioning of research focused on AI-powered meal planning specifically for Generation Z. The goal was to leverage AI in promoting better physical health in this demographic, addressing the escalating obesity rates and contributing to healthier lifestyles among young adults in Europe. The research is a strategic step in exploring innovative healthtech solutions to address critical health issues.
Obesity
Obesity is quickly becoming a global epidemic, affecting around 38% of the world's population and causing at least 2.8 million deaths each year (Campbell 2023; Anon, 2020). A Body Mass Index (BMI) of over 25 is classed as overweight, and over 30 classed as obese, with multiple co-morbidities associated with both. This can include high blood pressure (hypertension); type 2 diabetes; and coronary heart disease (Anon, 2022). As well as the plethora of physical complications corresponding with obesity, mental health conditions can also develop, such as body dysmorphia or depression, which, consequently, can worsen an individual’s quality of life and increase healthcare costs (Boutari, 2022).
Obesity levels are rapidly on the rise, especially in Generation Z (Gen Z), born between 1997 and 2010. This may be due to factors such as heightened consumption of high processed food; taking part in less physical activity than previous generations; or increased stresses and tolls on mental health. Europe is an especially digitalised region, which seemingly contributes to the obesity crisis. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimated that in 2022, levels of obesity in Europe increased by 138% since 1975.
Vegetarianism
Vegetarianism is a common practice which includes abstaining from meat or fish products. It is a diet that mainly consists of fruits, seeds, vegetables, grains, legumes, and possibly eggs or dairy products. There are various reasons why someone may follow a vegetarian diet, such as religion, health concerns, or due to environmental impact. According to a survey conducted in 2018, 8% of 18–24-year-olds were said to be vegetarian in select European countries. Another study was carried out in Spain over 10 years, tracking the diets of some 16,000 university graduates. Researchers compared the highest 20% consumption of animal products with the lowest 20%. The results demonstrated that individuals with the most vegetarian diets were 43% less likely to become obese (Boseley, 2017).
The recommended daily calorie intake is 2000 for women and 2500 for men. However, this greatly varies depending on each person, for example, the size of the person, amount of exercise, or any medical conditions they may have. There are many different healthy eating policies utilised by European governments, implemented in their respective countries, for example, The Wheel of Five in the Netherlands, or the Eatwell Guide in the UK.
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a type of computer software designed to perform human-like tasks, such as speech-recognition, and can change or make a decision depending on the type of interaction. For example, ChatGPT, which stands for Chat Generative Pre-Trained Transformer, is an AI-based chatbot that can understand and generate text depending on the user’s input.
AI can be used to create healthy meal plans or meal ideas to improve diet and reduce obesity. An application of machine learning, AI considers dietary preferences, allergies, and nutritional needs to create an ideal meal plan for the user. The combination of AI and wearable technology to track health can help to ease the user’s lifestyle, as they can monitor their fitness and well-being conveniently without the need for their phone or a personal computer.
Survey
The universal aim is to curb the levels of obesity in the global population, particularly in Gen Z. We explored the use of AI-based programs to create healthy meal plans which promote healthy eating in an attempt to tackle obesity. We focused on the older group of Gen Z (18–26-year-olds) as these individuals are more likely to live without parents and be less reliant on parents’ finances.
A short survey was conducted and gained 47 responses; the majority aged 18 to 26 years old. 17% of respondents declared that they followed a vegetarian or vegan diet, mainly due to environmental concerns. 66% of total respondents’ main health or fitness goal was muscle gain, with 6 out of 8 vegetarian or vegan respondents also answering muscle gain. A common reason for not adopting a vegetarian diet is concern over protein and nutrient intake, and 60% of respondents were not aware of the role of AI in nutrition and meal planning. Technology and AI could be used to educate the public about a pro-vegetarian diet to help reduce obesity levels, including advice about protein sources that are suitable for vegetarians.
Conclusions
Obesity levels have risen exponentially over the past few decades, increasing the mortality rate and putting pressures on healthcare systems. A more vegetarian/plant-based diet has been shown to decrease obesity levels by up to 43%, which would significantly improve people’s health and well-being.
The main advice from researchers is to incorporate more plant-based foods into people’s diets, increasing the amount of fibre consumed, and reducing the consumption of processed and red meats, a class 1 and 2 carcinogen, respectively. A ‘flexitarian’ diet is becoming more popular within the Gen Z age group, often due to health concerns and environmental impact.
In the future, AI could be harnessed and used more commonly to promote vegetarianism. For example, an app could be designed to specifically create healthy and affordable vegetarian-friendly meals, promoting vegetarian or more plant-based diets. This can also spread awareness about how vegetarianism can be healthy and affordable, despite what some people may think. There is still not a lot of research published on vegetarian diets to reduce obesity, much less the use of AI in this field. As the current largest generation, Gen Z will be the future of society so it is imperative that we tackle this emergency urgently.
Author: Chandra Bhamidimarri
REFERENCES
Anon (2020) Statistics, EASO. Available at: https://easo.org/media-portal/statistics/.
Anon (2022) Health effects of overweight and obesity, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/effects/index.html.
Anon (2022). WHO European Regional Obesity Report 2022. Copenhagen: WHO Regional Office for Europe. Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.
Boseley, S. (2017) ‘“Pro-vegetarian” diet could halve chance of obesity’, The Guardian, 19 May. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/may/19/pro-vegetarian-diet-halve-chance-obesity.
Boutari, C., & Mantzoros, C. S. (2022). A 2022 update on the epidemiology of obesity and a call to action: as its twin COVID-19 pandemic appears to be receding, the obesity and dysmetabolism pandemic continues to rage on. Metabolism: clinical and experimental, 133, 155217. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.metabol.2022.155217
Campbell, D. (2023) More than half of humans on track to be overweight or obese by 2035 – report, The Guardian, 2 March. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/mar/02/more-than-half-of-humans-on-track-to-be-overweight-or-obese-by-2035-report.
Fryar C.D., Carroll M.D., Afful J. (2020) Prevalence of overweight, obesity, and severe obesity among children and adolescents aged 2–19 years: United States, 1963–1965 through 2017–2018. NCHS Health E-Stats.