Opportunities for clinical applications of rest-activity rhythms in detecting and preventing mood disorders

Abstract

Purpose of review Rest-activity rhythm (RAR) measurements may aid in the detection of depression risk and serve as an important target for depression prevention. This review evaluates the strength of current evidence supporting these potential applications. Recent findings Depression is associated with lower activity levels, that is less regularly patterned, and potentially shifted earlier or later in the day. Specific RAR patterns (combinations of several RAR characteristics) in patients with clinical depression may be unique or partially shared across disorders. Longitudinal research is limited but provides initial evidence that multiple distinct RAR patterns are associated with the risk of developing depression symptoms. Summary RARs measures provide a comprehensive and objective assessment of depression’s behavioral manifestations, and therefore may be useful as monitoring tool, providing additional information to help clinicians tailor behavioral treatments to specific patients. RARs also appear to contribute to depression risk and may be an important target for depression prevention. But research has not established valid predictive metrics using RARs to diagnose depression or detect depression risk. Future research should prioritize establishing the specific RAR patterns related to depression risk in high risk groups, and should seek to place this risk within the known psychosocial and neurobiological risk architecture of depression.

Measuring Variability in Rest-Activity Rhythms from Actigraphy with Application to Characterizing Symptoms of Depression

“…HAMD is positively correlated with all three RCS band-collapsed measures, negatively correlated with F and IS, and positively correlated with IV. These are all consistent with previous findings, where increased variability from a stable circadian mean have been found to be associated with increased depression [23]. It is interesting to note that, out of the large number of RAR parameters investigated, LF had the highest estimated correlation with HAMD at 31%.…”

“…An estimated 300 million people globally suffer from depression [30], making it the leading cause of disability worldwide. Evidence suggests that RARs not only serve as a biobehavioral marker for depression, but more importantly, they represent a risk factor and a potential target for prevention [23]. We consider a study conducted at the University of Pittsburgh to better understand depression symptoms in adults.…”

“…RAR has been shown to be associated with many aspects of health. In particular, RAR provides an objective, indirect assessment of depression's behavioral manifestations and risks [23]. Through this capacity, RAR measures have the potential to aid clinicians in monitoring risk and tailoring treatment for depression.…”

24-h Activity Rhythms and Health in Older Adults

“…Increasing evidence supports that disturbances in the 24-h activity rhythm not only are apparent during the depressive episode, but might also precede depressive episodes or may persist afterwards [49]. A recent UK Biobank study suggested a lower relative amplitude in those with a retrospectively determined lifetime incidence of major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, and mood instability [21•].…”

Practice parameters for the use of actigraphy in the military operational context: the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research Operational Research Kit-Actigraphy (WORK-A)

“…Actigraphy has been a mainstay of sleep research since the late 1970s [10] and been used for the analysis of circadian and rest-activity rhythms (RAR) in healthy and specialty populations [11][12][13][14][15][16]. Specifically, actigraph devices detect body movement and sum these movements into digital activity counts across a predetermined epoch interval.…”