Decrease in Resting Heart Rate Measured Using Smartphone Apps to Verify Abstinence From Smoking: An Exploratory Study

Verifying self-reports of smoking abstinence is challenging in studies that involve remote data collection. Resting heart rate (HR) decreases during smoking abstinence. This study assessed whether a decrease in resting HR measured using freely available smartphone apps could potentially be used to verify smoking abstinence.

This study involved a repeated measures experimental design, with data collection in natural setting. Participants were 18 adult, daily smokers. They recorded resting HR in beats per minute (bpm) using freely available smartphone apps during five timepoints (two in the morning and three postnoon) on each of 3 days. The outcome measure was the mean of the postnoon HR recordings. The experimental condition for each of the 3 days (counterbalanced order) was as follows: (1) smoking as usual, (2) not smoking without nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), or (3) not smoking but using NRT. Abstinence was verified using expired-air carbon monoxide (CO) concentration.

Compared with the smoking as usual condition, mean HR was 13.4 bpm lower (95% confidence interval [CI] = 5.4 to 21.4, p = .001) in the not smoking without NRT condition and 10.4 bpm lower (95% CI = 3.1 to 17.8, p = 0.004) in the not smoking with NRT condition. There was no statistically significant difference in HR between the two not smoking conditions (p = .39). Abstinence during not smoking days without and with NRT was CO-verified in 18/18 and in 16/18 cases, respectively.

Self-recording of resting HR in natural setting using smartphone apps shows a reliable decrease in response to smoking abstinence and may provide a basis for remote verification in smoking cessation studies.

Remote verification of self-reported abstinence in smoking cessation studies remains challenging. Smoking abstinence has been shown to decrease resting HR under laboratory conditions. This study demonstrated that self-recording using freely available smartphone apps shows reliable decreases in resting HR during smoking abstinence and may provide a basis for inexpensive remote verification of smoking abstinence.