Circadian phase assessment by ambulatory monitoring in humans: correlation with dim light melatonin onset

The increased prevalence of circadian disruptions due to abnormal coupling between internal and external time makes the detection of circadian phase in humans by ambulatory recordings a compelling need. Here, we propose an accurate practical procedure to estimate circadian phase with the least possible burden for the subject, that is, without the restraints of a constant routine protocol or laboratory techniques such as melatonin quantification, both of which are standard procedures. In this validation study, subjects (N = 13) wore ambulatory monitoring devices, kept daily sleep diaries and went about their daily routine for 10 days. The devices measured skin temperature at wrist level (WT), motor activity and body position on the arm, and light exposure by means of a sensor placed on the chest. Dim light melatonin onset (DLMO) was used to compare and evaluate the accuracy of the ambulatory variables in assessing circadian phase. An evening increase in WT: WTOnset (WTOn) and "WT increase onset" (WTiO) was found to anticipate the evening increase in melatonin, while decreases in motor activity (Activity Offset or AcOff), body position (Position Offset (POff)), integrative TAP (a combination of WT, activity and body position) (TAPOffset or TAPOff) and an increase in declared sleep propensity were phase delayed with respect to DLMO. The phase markers obtained from subjective sleep (R = 0.811), WT (R = 0.756) and the composite variable TAP (R = 0.720) were highly and significantly correlated with DLMO. The findings strongly support a new method to calculate circadian phase based on WT (WTiO) that accurately predicts and shows a temporal association with DLMO. WTiO is especially recommended due to its simplicity and applicability to clinical use under conditions where knowing endogenous circadian phase is important, such as in cancer chronotherapy and light therapy.