How can smartwatch data help identify long COVID risks? This is what a recent study published in npj Digital Medicine hopes to address as a team of researchers from Germany and Austria investigated how fitness data obtained from smartwatches could help track long COVID patients. This study has the potential to help researchers, medical professionals, and the public better understand the risks of long COVID and the steps that can be taken to mitigate symptoms.
For the study, the researchers analyzed self-reported data and data obtained from the Corona-Datenspende App (CDA), which was downloaded by 535,556 individuals between April 12, 2020, and December 31, 2022, and linked to an individual’s smartwatch. While the researchers asked individuals to submit weekly symptom reports, only 35,355 submitted one survey by November 9, 2022. The individuals were grouped into those who reported a positive COVID test and those who reported a negative COVID test. Data was grouped into four groups: pre- (<0 weeks until reported COVID test), acute- (0-4 weeks), sub-acute (5-12 weeks), and post-phase (>12 weeks).
In the end, the researchers found that 69.76% of individuals in the positive COVID group and 19.53% of the negative COVID group reported fatigue during the acute phase. Additionally, 13.55% of the positive COVID group and 2.46% of the negative COVID group reported shortness of breath. Finally, the combination of fatigue and shortness of breath was reported by 12.2% of the positive COVID group and 1.84% of the negative COVID group, along with an increase of both symptoms over a period of 11 weeks for the positive COVID group.
For resting heart rate and step count, the researchers found that individuals who experienced long COVID exhibited 2.37 beats per minute greater than individuals who did not experience long COVID symptoms. Overall, these results could indicate that long COVID could be responsible for decreased fitness and activity levels.
“However, this does not mean that a higher resting heart rate, lower step count, or preexisting conditions alone are responsible for these symptoms,” said Katharina Ledebur, who is a PhD candidate at the Medical University of Vienna and lead author of the study. “Rather, they highlight the need for special attention and protective measures for affected individuals.”
What new discoveries about long COVID will researchers make in the coming years and decades? Only time will tell, and this is why we science!
As always, keep doing science & keep looking up!
Sources: npj Digital Medicine, EurekAlert!