2023-08-08 10:01:27
A new European study reveals a connection between severity of depression and changes in heart rate in people with a history of recurrent major depressive disorder (MDD). The research, published in the journal Physological Medicine and led by the CIBER Mental Health Area (CIBERSAM), used smart watches to track the evolution of the disease for two years.
During the investigation, called RADAR-MDDdata from 510 people were collected through three international scientific institutions: the Network Biomedical Research Center (CIBER) in Spain, the Vrije Universiteit Medisch Centrum in the Netherlands and King’s College London in the United Kingdom.
The results of the study show that the severity of depression, assessed using the PHQ-8 questionnaire, is positively related to mean total heart rate during the day and negatively related to the standard deviation of heart rate. He PHQ-8 questionnaire is a self-assessment questionnaire used to measure the severity of depression symptoms in a person in which, through eight questions, the main symptoms of depression are evaluated: mood, loss of interest or pleasure in activities, sleep problems, fatigue, decreased concentration, feelings of worthlessness or guilt, changes in appetite or weight, and thoughts of death or suicide.
The severity of depression, assessed using the PHQ-8 questionnaire, is positively related to mean total heart rate during the day and negatively related to the standard deviation.
Additionally, study participants were monitored through smart watches to collect heart rate data. From this information, seven daily heart rate characteristics were selected, including the mean and standard variation of heart rates during the day, rest periods, and night.
Mental health and physiological markers
The results of both measurements (the PHQ-8 questionnaire and the monitoring through the smart watch) revealed that changes in heart rate are associated with the severity of depression. Exactly, two trends were identified: on the one hand, people with less variability in their heart rate during the day show more intense depressive symptoms and, on the other, those who showed a higher heart rate at night also experienced greater severity in the symptoms of depression.
Josep Maria HaroCIBERSAM researcher and Sant Joan de Déu Health Parkexplains that these results “provide us with a better understanding of the relationship between mental health and physiological markers like heart rate. In addition, he adds that “the ability to use remote monitoring technology to collect accurate and real-time data offers us new opportunities to improve the detection and management of depression“.
Sara Siddi, first author of this manuscript and coordinator of the study in Spain, maintains that: “from a clinical perspective, these findings are very relevant, since they indicate that a higher heart rate and a lower daily heart rate variability at rest could be associated with greater vulnerability to the severity of depression, meaning that people with higher and less fluctuating HR may be more likely to experience more intense or recurrent depression.”
Remote technology would allow an early alert in case of a possible relapse
Therefore, using HR as a specific biomarker to monitor fluctuations in depression severity in vulnerable individuals via remote technology would allow early warning in the event of a possible relapse while allowing clinicians to take action and take prompt treatment”
The CIBER areas of Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN) and Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), in addition to other European institutions such as the University of Bergamo (Italy), the KU University Leuven (Belgium) or the IRCCS Center of Saint John of God Fatebenefratelli (Italia).
Reference:
Siddi, S., Bailon, R., Giné-Vázquez, I., Matcham, F., Lamers, F., Kontaxis, S., . . . Haro, J. (2023). The usability of daytime and night-time heart rate dynamics as digital biomarkers of depression severity. Psychological Medicine.
Fuente: SINC
Rights: Creative Commons.
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