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Assessing Anxiety Disorders Using Wearable Devices: Challenges and Future Directions
Mohamed Elgendi1,2,3,4, Carlo Menon5
1Menrva Research Group, Schools of Mechatronic Systems Engineering and Engineering Science, Simon Fraser University, Surrey, BC V3T 0A3, Canada. moe.elgendi@gmail.com.
Brain Sciences
|March 3, 2019
Summary
Electrocardiogram (ECG) features from wearable devices show limited reliability for detecting anxiety disorders (AD). More robust studies are needed to validate ECG
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Cardiology
- Psychiatry
Background:
- Wearable devices (WD) are increasingly used for mental well-being interventions.
- Electrocardiogram (ECG) signals reflect autonomic nervous system activity during emotional changes.
- The accuracy of ECG features for detecting anxiety disorders (AD) is not well-established.
Purpose of the Study:
- To validate the reliability of ECG features for detecting anxiety using WD.
- To assess the current evidence on ECG-based anxiety detection in wearable technology.
Main Methods:
- Conducted a literature review of 1040 articles, selecting 22 for analysis.
- Included studies focused on various anxiety disorders (panic, PTSD, generalized, social, mixed, OCD).
Main Results:
- Most experimental studies yielded controversial results regarding ECG feature accuracy for AD detection.
- Evidence supporting the reliability of ECG-WD for anxiety detection is limited.
- The use of ECG-WD for mental well-being is an emerging research area.
Conclusions:
- The use of ECG features for detecting different types of anxiety disorders remains controversial.
- There is a need for more robust studies to determine the specific impact of ECG features in WD for AD detection.
- Further research should follow specific recommendations to enhance reliability.
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