Healthcare wearables devices can detect IBD flare-ups
A Mount Sinai study found that healthcare wearable device data, such as heart rate and steps, can enable clinicians to spot flare-ups of IBD symptoms and inflammation.
New research reveals that physiological data collected by healthcare wearable devices can identify, differentiate and predict flare-ups in inflammatory bowel disease patients.
IBD is a group of chronic diseases affecting the intestines that develop when the body's defense system attacks healthy bowel cells by mistake, resulting in diarrhea, stomach pain, fatigue and nausea. These symptoms occur in two waves: flare-ups, when the symptoms increase, and remission, when the symptoms disappear temporarily. An estimated 2.4 million to 3.1 million U.S. adults suffer from IBD.
The research, conducted by Mount Sinai researchers and published in Gastroenterology, evaluated various physiological metrics associated with IBD flares and how they can change before the symptoms develop. The study also assessed whether commercially available healthcare wearable devices can be used to collect that data.
For the study, the researchers enrolled 309 participants across 36 states. The participants wore an Apple Watch, Fitbit or Oura Ring, completed disease activity surveys daily and provided blood and stool samples to assess inflammation. The devices collected several physiological metrics, including longitudinal heart rate, resting heart rate, heart rate variability, steps and oxygenation.
Researchers found that the circadian patterns of heart rate variability significantly differed between the flare-up and remission periods. Heart rate and resting heart rate were also higher, on average, during flare-ups, and daily step count was lower.
Not only that, but the study further shows that heart rate variability, heart rate, resting heart rate steps and oxygenation were all significantly altered up to seven weeks before a flare-up period.
"Our study shows that commonly used wearable devices such as Apple Watches, Fitbits, and Oura Rings can be effective tools in monitoring chronic inflammatory diseases like IBD," said study first author Robert Hirten, M.D., clinical director of the Hasso Plattner Institute for Digital Health and an associate professor of medicine (gastroenterology), and AI and human health, at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, in a press release. "This creates an opportunity to monitor the disease remotely outside the health care setting, in a continuous manner, and potentially in real time."
Wearable devices have the potential to enhance healthcare in various ways, including improving chronic disease management and encouraging physical activity post-surgery.
The devices are popular among U.S. adults, with a 2023 survey showing that 35% of U.S. adults used healthcare wearable devices. This figure jumped 8 percentage points from 2018. The survey, which polled 2,201 adults, revealed that 31% of adults use wearables because they encourage their fitness goals.
In another survey conducted in the first quarter of 2022 among 2,005 U.S. healthcare consumers, 70% said healthcare wearable devices helped improve their fitness and health. Additionally, over half (55%) of wearable device owners said they share their data with their healthcare providers.
However, there is a flip side to the growing use of healthcare wearable devices. A study published in 2024 found that wearable device utilization is associated with pathologic symptom monitoring and higher healthcare use among atrial fibrillation (AFib) patients.
The study included 172 AFib patients, of whom 83 used a wearable device. Researchers found that 15% of wearable device users felt anxious, scared or concerned in response to wearable alerts for high and low heart rates, and 20% said they always contacted their doctors in response to irregular rhythm notifications. About 45% reported checking their heart rate or performing an electrocardiogram daily. Also, wearable device users sent more messages to healthcare providers than nonusers.
Anuja Vaidya has covered the healthcare industry since 2012. She currently covers the virtual healthcare landscape, including telehealth, remote patient monitoring and digital therapeutics.
