Impact of Bio-impedance Emitted from Wearable Smart Watches on Skin Microbiota: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Smart watches (SWs), which offer users a variety of features including bio-impedance measurements, have grown significantly in popularity as wearable health monitoring devices. Electrical currents are used in bio-impedance technology to measure things like body composition and hydration levels. However, little is known about how these electrical currents might affect the skin’s microbiota, which is vital for preserving skin health. This summary of the possible effects of bio-impedance measurements from SWs on the skin microbiota is intended. Hence, we tried to explore the effect of impedance emitted from smart watches on the skin microbiota. A total of 20 volunteers were recruited, and their skin microbial load was enumerated from the impedance-exposed region at two different time intervals and compared with non-exposed region. We found an overall 57% reduction of microbial load on impedance-exposed regions as compared to non-exposed regions. Impedance significantly (P < 0.0001) reduced the microbial load. Despite preliminary data pointing to a potential connection between bio-impedance readings from SWs and skin microbiota, further research is required to understand the impact of SWs on the human skin.

Keywords

• digital health
• good health and well-being
• health check
• skin microbiota
• smart watch
• technology