Deep learning paired with wearable passive sensing data predicts deterioration in anxiety disorder symptoms across 17-18 years

Background: Recent studies have demonstrated that passive smartphone and wearable sensor data collected throughout daily life can predict anxiety symptoms cross-sectionally. However, to date, no research has demonstrated the capacity for these digital biomarkers to predict long-term prognosis. Methods: We utilized deep learning models based on wearable sensor technology to predict long-term (17-18-year) deterioration in generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder symptoms from actigraphy data on daytime movement and nighttime sleeping patterns. As part of Midlife in the United States (MIDUS), a national longitudinal study of health and well-being, subjects (N = 265) (i) completed a phone-based interview that assessed generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder symptoms at enrollment, (ii) participated in a one-week actigraphy study 9-14 years later, and (iii) completed a long-term follow-up, phone-based interview to quantify generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder symptoms 17-18 years from initial enrollment. A deep autoencoder paired with a multi-layered ensemble deep learning model was leveraged to predict whether participants experienced increased anxiety disorder symptoms across this 17-18 year period. Results: Out-of-sample cross-validated results suggested that wearable movement data could significantly predict which individuals would experience symptom deterioration (AUC = 0.696, CI [0.598, 0.793], 84.6% sensitivity, 52.7% specificity, balanced accuracy = 68.7%). Conclusions: Passive wearable actigraphy data could be utilized to predict long-term deterioration of anxiety disorder symptoms. Future studies should examine whether these methods could be implemented to prevent deterioration of anxiety disorder symptoms.

Automated summary

This study used deep learning models to predict long-term deterioration of anxiety disorder symptoms based on wearable sensor data, suggesting that wearable technology could be used to forecast the progression of anxiety disorders over time.