Data gathered through wearable technology can predict disease flare-ups as much as seven weeks ahead of time.
Research by scientists at Mount Sinai has revealed that wearable devices can detect, distinguish, and forecast flare-ups—periods of worsening symptoms and inflammation—in individuals with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). This is the first study of its kind.
The results, published in the journal Gastroenterology on January 16, indicate that wearable technology has the potential to foresee flare-ups in IBD, allowing for ongoing disease monitoring through commonly used commercial devices.
“Current methods for monitoring disease require direct interaction between patients and healthcare professionals, whether through office visits, laboratory tests on blood or stool, or procedures like colonoscopies. Furthermore, these methods typically evaluate the condition at just one moment and can often be intrusive or impractical,” explained Dr. Robert Hirten, MD, the study’s lead author and Clinical Director of the Hasso Plattner Institute for Digital Health, as well as Associate Professor of Medicine (Gastroenterology) and Artificial Intelligence and Human Health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. “Our research demonstrates that widely used wearable devices—like Apple Watches, Fitbits, and Oura Rings—are valuable tools for monitoring chronic inflammatory ailments like IBD. This innovation allows for remote, continuous disease tracking, potentially in real-time.”
IBD is a long-lasting condition that leads to intestinal inflammation and impacts over 2.4 million individuals in the United States. Researchers from Mount Sinai studied over 300 participants diagnosed with either ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease, the two primary forms of IBD, from across 36 states. These participants wore wearable devices, completed daily symptom surveys, and provided samples for blood and stool tests to assess inflammation.
The investigation revealed that variations in heart rate variability (a measure of nervous system activity), along with heart rate, oxygen levels, and daily physical activity—tracked by the wearable devices—were notably altered during periods of inflammation or symptomatic flare-ups. Additionally, these physiological indicators were effective in detecting inflammation even when symptoms were absent and could differentiate whether symptoms were caused by active intestinal inflammation. Crucially, the researchers observed that these metrics from the wearable devices could change up to seven weeks before the onset of flare-ups.
The team is now applying similar methodologies to other chronic inflammatory conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis, and employing artificial intelligence to create algorithms that utilize data from wearables to predict individual flare-ups. “These results pave the way for utilizing wearable technology in health monitoring and disease management through methods we hadn’t previously imagined,” Dr. Hirten remarked. “We aspire that this approach will significantly improve the quality of life for our patients in the future.”
