European research has found a link between the severity of depression and changes in heart rate in individuals with a history of recurrent major depressive disorder (MDD). The study has been led by the Mental Health Area of the CIBER (CIBERSAM) and to carry it out, smart watches have been used that have allowed the evolution of the disease to be tracked for two years.
The research is called RADAR-MDD and has been based on data from 510 people that have been collected through three international scientific institutions: the Red Biomedical Research Center (CIBER) in Spain, the Vrije Universiteit Medisch Centrum (VUmc) in Netherlands and King’s College London (KCL) in the United Kingdom.
The results have been published in the journal Physological Medicine and show that the severity of depression, assessed using the PHQ-8 questionnaire, is positively related to the average total heart rate during the day, and negatively related to the standard deviation of heart rate .
The PHQ-8 questionnaire is a self-assessment test used to measure the severity of depression symptoms in a person in which, through eight questions, the main symptoms of depression are evaluated: mood, loss of interest or pleasure in activities, sleep problems, fatigue, decreased concentration, feelings of worthlessness or guilt, changes in appetite or weight, and thoughts of death or suicide.
“Using remote monitoring technology to collect accurate, real-time data offers us new opportunities to improve the detection and management of depression.”
Additionally, study participants were monitored through smart watches to collect heart rate data. From this information, seven daily heart rate characteristics were selected, including the mean and standard variation of heart rate during the day, rest periods, and night.
Link between heart rate and severity of depression
The results of both measurements (the PHQ-8 questionnaire and monitoring through the smart watch) revealed that changes in heart rate are associated with the severity of depression. Exactly, two trends were identified: on the one hand, people with a lower variability in their heart rate during the day show more intense depressive symptoms and, on the other, those who showed a higher heart rate during the night also experienced greater severity in symptoms of depression.
Josep María Haro, researcher at CIBERSAM and the Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu, explains that these results “give us a better understanding of the relationship between mental health and physiological markers such as heart rate,” and adds that “the ability to “Using remote monitoring technology to collect accurate, real-time data offers us new opportunities to improve the detection and management of depression.”
Dr. Sara Siddi, first author of this manuscript and coordinator of the study in Spain, states that “from a clinical perspective, these findings are very relevant, since they indicate that a higher heart rate and a lower variability of the daily heart rate at rest could be associated with greater vulnerability to the severity of depression. That is, people with a higher and less fluctuating HR could be more likely to experience more intense or recurrent depression.”
Therefore, “using HR as a specific biomarker to monitor fluctuations in the severity of depression in vulnerable people through remote technology would allow early warning in case of possible relapse and at the same time allow clinicians to take action.” and adopt treatment promptly.”
Source: Mental Health Area of the CIBER (CIBERSAM)
