Measuring Daily Activity Rhythms in Young Adults at Risk of Affective Instability Using Passively Collected Smartphone Data: Observational Study

BackgroundIrregularities in circadian rhythms have been associated with adverse health outcomes. The regularity of rhythms can be quantified using passively collected smartphone data to provide clinically relevant biomarkers of routine. ObjectiveThis study aims to...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Benny Ren, Cedric Huchuan Xia, Philip Gehrman, Ian Barnett, Theodore Satterthwaite
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: JMIR Publications 2022-09-01
Series:JMIR Formative Research
Online Access:https://formative.jmir.org/2022/9/e33890
_version_ 1797734713464455168
author Benny Ren
Cedric Huchuan Xia
Philip Gehrman
Ian Barnett
Theodore Satterthwaite
author_facet Benny Ren
Cedric Huchuan Xia
Philip Gehrman
Ian Barnett
Theodore Satterthwaite
author_sort Benny Ren
collection DOAJ
description BackgroundIrregularities in circadian rhythms have been associated with adverse health outcomes. The regularity of rhythms can be quantified using passively collected smartphone data to provide clinically relevant biomarkers of routine. ObjectiveThis study aims to develop a metric to quantify the regularity of activity rhythms and explore the relationship between routine and mood, as well as demographic covariates, in an outpatient psychiatric cohort. MethodsPassively sensed smartphone data from a cohort of 38 young adults from the Penn or Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Lifespan Brain Institute and Outpatient Psychiatry Clinic at the University of Pennsylvania were fitted with 2-state continuous-time hidden Markov models representing active and resting states. The regularity of routine was modeled as the hour-of-the-day random effects on the probability of state transition (ie, the association between the hour-of-the-day and state membership). A regularity score, Activity Rhythm Metric, was calculated from the continuous-time hidden Markov models and regressed on clinical and demographic covariates. ResultsRegular activity rhythms were associated with longer sleep durations (P=.009), older age (P=.001), and mood (P=.049). ConclusionsPassively sensed Activity Rhythm Metrics are an alternative to existing metrics but do not require burdensome survey-based assessments. Low-burden, passively sensed metrics based on smartphone data are promising and scalable alternatives to traditional measurements.
first_indexed 2024-03-12T12:48:21Z
format Article
id doaj.art-597833e068254c62b1ffe4797761eda2
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2561-326X
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-12T12:48:21Z
publishDate 2022-09-01
publisher JMIR Publications
record_format Article
series JMIR Formative Research
spelling doaj.art-597833e068254c62b1ffe4797761eda22023-08-28T23:04:26ZengJMIR PublicationsJMIR Formative Research2561-326X2022-09-0169e3389010.2196/33890Measuring Daily Activity Rhythms in Young Adults at Risk of Affective Instability Using Passively Collected Smartphone Data: Observational StudyBenny Renhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-6075-657XCedric Huchuan Xiahttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-9703-333XPhilip Gehrmanhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-1054-7475Ian Barnetthttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-3256-5703Theodore Satterthwaitehttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-7072-9399 BackgroundIrregularities in circadian rhythms have been associated with adverse health outcomes. The regularity of rhythms can be quantified using passively collected smartphone data to provide clinically relevant biomarkers of routine. ObjectiveThis study aims to develop a metric to quantify the regularity of activity rhythms and explore the relationship between routine and mood, as well as demographic covariates, in an outpatient psychiatric cohort. MethodsPassively sensed smartphone data from a cohort of 38 young adults from the Penn or Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Lifespan Brain Institute and Outpatient Psychiatry Clinic at the University of Pennsylvania were fitted with 2-state continuous-time hidden Markov models representing active and resting states. The regularity of routine was modeled as the hour-of-the-day random effects on the probability of state transition (ie, the association between the hour-of-the-day and state membership). A regularity score, Activity Rhythm Metric, was calculated from the continuous-time hidden Markov models and regressed on clinical and demographic covariates. ResultsRegular activity rhythms were associated with longer sleep durations (P=.009), older age (P=.001), and mood (P=.049). ConclusionsPassively sensed Activity Rhythm Metrics are an alternative to existing metrics but do not require burdensome survey-based assessments. Low-burden, passively sensed metrics based on smartphone data are promising and scalable alternatives to traditional measurements.https://formative.jmir.org/2022/9/e33890
spellingShingle Benny Ren
Cedric Huchuan Xia
Philip Gehrman
Ian Barnett
Theodore Satterthwaite
Measuring Daily Activity Rhythms in Young Adults at Risk of Affective Instability Using Passively Collected Smartphone Data: Observational Study
JMIR Formative Research
title Measuring Daily Activity Rhythms in Young Adults at Risk of Affective Instability Using Passively Collected Smartphone Data: Observational Study
title_full Measuring Daily Activity Rhythms in Young Adults at Risk of Affective Instability Using Passively Collected Smartphone Data: Observational Study
title_fullStr Measuring Daily Activity Rhythms in Young Adults at Risk of Affective Instability Using Passively Collected Smartphone Data: Observational Study
title_full_unstemmed Measuring Daily Activity Rhythms in Young Adults at Risk of Affective Instability Using Passively Collected Smartphone Data: Observational Study
title_short Measuring Daily Activity Rhythms in Young Adults at Risk of Affective Instability Using Passively Collected Smartphone Data: Observational Study
title_sort measuring daily activity rhythms in young adults at risk of affective instability using passively collected smartphone data observational study
url https://formative.jmir.org/2022/9/e33890
work_keys_str_mv AT bennyren measuringdailyactivityrhythmsinyoungadultsatriskofaffectiveinstabilityusingpassivelycollectedsmartphonedataobservationalstudy
AT cedrichuchuanxia measuringdailyactivityrhythmsinyoungadultsatriskofaffectiveinstabilityusingpassivelycollectedsmartphonedataobservationalstudy
AT philipgehrman measuringdailyactivityrhythmsinyoungadultsatriskofaffectiveinstabilityusingpassivelycollectedsmartphonedataobservationalstudy
AT ianbarnett measuringdailyactivityrhythmsinyoungadultsatriskofaffectiveinstabilityusingpassivelycollectedsmartphonedataobservationalstudy
AT theodoresatterthwaite measuringdailyactivityrhythmsinyoungadultsatriskofaffectiveinstabilityusingpassivelycollectedsmartphonedataobservationalstudy