The real-world applications of the symptom tracking functionality available to menstrual health tracking apps

The goal of this review was to evaluate whether the fields available in iOS mobile phone apps for recording menstrual cycle symptoms are able to be harmonized across platforms for potential use in research, such as aggregated data analysis.

Symptom tracking capabilities are a common feature among menstrual health apps but have been the subject of limited investigations. Apps differ with respect to which symptoms are included and the rationale for these differences is unclear. Epidemiologic studies are poised to incorporate these data; however, a thorough exploration of symptom tracking functionality across apps is required.

Our review finds that the language used to describe symptoms and the specificity with which symptoms are collected varies greatly across the most used iOS tracking apps. Although some apps allow numerical and qualitative description of symptoms, such as sleep and mood, most simply record the presence or absence of a symptom. Collaborative efforts between clinicians and researchers to guide what and how data is collected may allow tracking apps to realize their potential diagnostic applicability. Regardless, with the increasing use of menstrual health tracking apps, it is imperative that data retrieved from such apps can realize its potential in the research and clinical ecosystems.