PreprintCited by 227Digital Mental Health InterventionsMental Health Research TopicsEmotion and Mood Recognition

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 94 of the 97 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; none of the 65 sources its claims cite is checked for support yet.

Digital Health Tools for the Passive Monitoring of Depression: A Systematic Review of Methods

Open access

Abstract

Background: The use of digital tools to measure physiological and behavioural variables of potential relevance to mental health is a growing field sitting at the intersection between computer science, engineering and clinical science. We aim to summarise the literature on remote measuring technologies, mapping methodological challenges and threats to reproducibility, and to identify leading digital signals for depression. Methods: Medical and computer science databases were searched between January 2007 to November 2019. Published studies linking depression and objective behavioural data obtained from smartphone and wearable device sensors in adults with unipolar depression and healthy subjects were included (PROSPERO registration: 2019 CRD42019159929). A descriptive approach was taken to synthesise study methodologies. Results We included 52 studies and found threats to reproducibility and transparency arising from failure to provide comprehensive descriptions of recruitment strategies, sample information, feature construction and the determination and handling of missing data. The literature is characterised by small sample sizes, short follow-up duration and great variability in quality of reporting, limiting the interpretability of pooled results. Bivariate analyses show some consistency in statistically significant associations between depression and digital features from sleep, physical activity, location, and phone use data. Regression and classification machine learning models found predictive value of aggregated features. Interpretation: Recommendations are put forward to improve aspects of generalisability and reproducibility, such as wider diversity of samples, thorough reporting methodology and the potential for reporting bias in studies with numerous features. Funding: National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King's College London.

Overview

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

This systematic review maps methods and reproducibility threats in 51 studies using smartphones and wearables to passively monitor depression, finding consistent bivariate signals in sleep, physical activity, location, and phone use but major heterogeneity and reporting gaps. The authors conclude these results are hypothesis-generating and recommend stronger reporting standards, preregistration, and more representative samples.

Key findings

  • Across 51 included studies, the median sample size was 58, median age 38 years, and median percentage female 58%; 63% of studies failed to report ethnicity, and 12% and 8% failed to report age or gender, respectively.
  • Fifteen depression measures were used, most commonly CES-D (n = 12), HAM-D (n = 12), and PHQ-9 (n = 9); 14 device types were used, mostly actigraphy-based wrist-worn devices plus smartphones.
  • Bivariate associations were most consistent for location features: homestay was significantly associated with depression in all included studies reporting it, and entropy in 4 studies; sleep stability had the highest proportion of significant associations among sleep features.
  • Machine learning models combining features showed predictive value, but many lacked information on missing sensor data handling and calibration; only two studies used multiple imputation.

Methods

  • Systematic review searching PubMed, IEEE Xplore, ACM Digital Library, Web of Science, and Embase/PsychInfo via OVID for studies published January 2007–November 2019; protocol registered on PROSPERO (CRD42019159929).
  • Included 51 published, peer-reviewed studies linking validated depression measures to passively collected smartphone or wrist-worn sensor data in adults with unipolar depression and healthy subjects, with at least 3 consecutive days of data; excluded inpatient settings and primarily bipolar samples.
  • Descriptive synthesis only, with no meta-analysis due to heterogeneity; quality assessment combined AXIS and Newcastle–Ottawa Scale items, and feasibility was assessed via engagement, dropout reasons, technology problems, completion, attrition, and missing data.

Limitations

  • Stated by the paper: reporting of feature–depression associations was too opaque and diverse for credible meta-analysis, so the review relies on simple counts of associations not weighted by sample size, follow-up duration, or study quality; reporting bias may emphasize significant findings; combining low-level features into broader categories lost nuance; and overlapping samples (e.g., four papers using the StudentLife dataset) may duplicate some associations.
  • Evident from the text: included studies were mostly opportunistic, with small samples, short follow-up (median 9 days), and many student samples, limiting generalisability; there was no consensus on optimal phenotyping windows, and device validity/reliability for complex behaviours such as sleep and sociability remains uncertain.

Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1101/2021.07.19.21260786

Cites

94 of 94 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Figures

Fig. 1 Study selection flowchart. Medical and computer science databases were searched to ensure relevant fields were covered. The current flowchart lists reasons for excluding the study from the data extraction and quality assessment.
Fig. 1 Study selection flowchart. Medical and computer science databases were searched to ensure relevant fields were covered. The current flowchart lists reasons for excluding the study from the data extraction and quality assessment.CC BY · PubMed Central
Fig. 2 Sample sizes and follow-up times for all included studies. The number of studies by the length of time participants were followed up for in each study, differentiated by sample size.
Fig. 2 Sample sizes and follow-up times for all included studies. The number of studies by the length of time participants were followed up for in each study, differentiated by sample size.CC BY · PubMed Central
Fig. 3 Quality of the literature by each domain. The figure shows the number of studies scoring on each study quality item. 2 points are given for fully addressing quality criteria, 1 point for partially addressing quality criteria, and 0 points for failing to address quality criteria.
Fig. 3 Quality of the literature by each domain. The figure shows the number of studies scoring on each study quality item. 2 points are given for fully addressing quality criteria, 1 point for partially addressing quality criteria, and 0 points for failing to address quality criteria.CC BY · PubMed Central
Fig. 4 Feature associations with depression by behaviour type. The number of times each feature (a sleep, b physical activity, c circadian rhythm, d sociability, e location and f phone use) has been reported in all included studies and their association with depression, where these associations are defined as having a below-threshold p-value (“Significant Association”), above-threshold p-value (“Non-Significant Association”), and where statistical methods have been used that do not yield p-values (“Non-p-value”). The graphs also show the number of studies assessing each feature.
Fig. 4 Feature associations with depression by behaviour type. The number of times each feature (a sleep, b physical activity, c circadian rhythm, d sociability, e location and f phone use) has been reported in all included studies and their association with depression, where these associations are defined as having a below-threshold p-value (“Significant Association”), above-threshold p-value (“Non-Significant Association”), and where statistical methods have been used that do not yield p-values (“Non-p-value”). The graphs also show the number of studies assessing each feature.CC BY · PubMed Central

Verification

Claims the paper makes

59 Own result · 46 Not checked yet · 34 No basis given · 19 Own interpretation · 9 Own method

Verify all 65 references — free account

Show all 100 claims

  • Probably not a substantial claim. 41
  • It may state two separate claims as one. 29
  • The quote only partly states this claim. 5
67 of 67
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Digital technology for tracking mood and behaviour has enormous potential for clinical management and improving depression research.

    “The use of digital technology to track mood and behaviour brings enormous potential for clinical management and the improvement of research in depression.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Remote sensing combined with questionnaires may generate more objective and frequent measures of mood and core dimensions of mental disorders than retrospective accounts.

    “When combined with the completion of questionnaires, remote sensing may generate more objective and frequent measures of mood and other core dimensions of mental disorders, instead of relying on retrospective accounts of patients or participants.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Missing data can arise from issues with technology (device and system failures) or from user-related issues that may be associated with depressed mood.

    “Missing data can arise from issues with technology, such as device and system failures, or from user-related issues which may be associated with depressed mood.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Remote sensing potentially places a considerable burden on study participants.

    “Remote sensing is a relatively new technology that potentially places a considerable burden on study participants”
4 of 4

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.

3 of 3

Citations

Cites

Show all 97 references

Research works printed but not linked: 7

  1. [44]Doryab, A., Min, J. K., Wiese, J., Zimmerman, J. & Hong, J. Detection of behavior change in people with depression. In Proc. of the 28th AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Vol. 5 (Québec City, QC, Canada, 2014).
  2. [86]Naismith SL Sleep disturbance relates to neuropsychological functioning in late-life depression J. Affect. Disord. 2011 132 139 145 21435728
  3. [88]Pillai V Steenburg LA Ciesla JA Roth T Drake CL A seven day actigraphy-based study of rumination and sleep disturbance among young adults with depressive symptoms J. Psychosom. Res. 2014 77 70 75 24913345
  4. [89]Pratap A The accuracy of passive phone sensors in predicting daily mood Depress. Anxiety 2019 36 72 81 30129691 PMC8491547
  5. [90]Robillard R Sleep-wake profiles predict longitudinal changes in manic symptoms and memory in young people with mood disorders J. Sleep Res. 2016 25 549 555 27242171
  6. [95]Vanderlind WM Sleep and sadness: exploring the relation among sleep, cognitive control, and depressive symptoms in young adults Sleep Med. 2014 15 144 149 24332565 PMC4217155
  7. [96]Wang, R. et al. Tracking depression dynamics in college students using mobile phone and wearable sensing. In Proc. ACM Interactive Mobile, Wearable and Ubiquitous Technology, Vol. 2, 1–26 (2018). PMC11501090 39449996

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Items 201–226 of 226

Metadata

Authors
de Angel, V., Lewis, S., White, K., Oetzmann, C., Leightley, D., Oprea, E., Lavelle, G., Matcham, F., Pace, A., Mohr, D. C., Dobson, R., & Hotopf, M.
Affiliations
  • King's College London (GB)
  • Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (GB)
  • Northwestern University (US)
Venue
npj Digital Medicine
Publisher
openRxiv
Published
2021-07-22
Volume
5
Issue
1
Pages
3-3
ISSN
2398-6352 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W4221044624
Cited by
227
References
97
Citations by year
2026: 56 · 2025: 54 · 2024: 63 · 2023: 32 · 2022: 22
FWCI
7.61
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by
Locations
  • npj Digital Medicine (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • medRxiv (acceptedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Sussex Research Online (University of Sussex) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • Research Portal (King's College London) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
  • South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust
  • Wellcome Trust
  • King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
  • Scottish Government
  • European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (116074)
  • UK Research and Innovation
  • National Institute for Health and Care Research (NF-SI-0515-10102)
  • British Heart Foundation
  • Department of Health and Social Care
  • King's College London
  • University College London
  • European Commission (116074, HORIZON2020)
  • Public Health Agency
  • Innovative Medicines Initiative (116074)
  • Chief Scientist Office, Scottish Government Health and Social Care Directorate
  • NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre
  • Medical Research Council (MC_PC_17214)
  • Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
  • Economic and Social Research Council
  • Health and Social Care Research and Development Division
  • National Institute for Health Research Applied Research Collaboration South London
  • Health Data Research UK
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Digital Mental Health Interventions
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Mental Health Research Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Artificial Intelligence › Emotion and Mood Recognition
Keywords
depression, passive monitoring, digital health tools, wearable devices, smartphone sensors, sleep, physical activity, location data, telephone use, major depressive disorder, reproducibility, reporting quality, machine learning prediction

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

A language model drew the claims from the paper on 2026-10-10, under version 3 of the claim definition (model deepseek-v4.1-flash, prompt extract-v3).

A second model labelled each claim on 2026-10-10 (model jev-1.13-20260917, definition revision gold-guideline-v0.2).

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review