SMARTPHONE-BASED MONITORING OF MOOD DISORDERS: A REVIEW

Abstract

The literature on smartphone-based monitoring in psychiatry is expanding. Data collection by utilizing smartphones can be divided into: (a) active monitoring, requiring active input from the patient, and (b) automatically generated passive monitoring. Numerous studies have investigated the potential of both active and passive monitoring in providing insights into mood disorder psychopathology. Furthermore, several intervention studies have been conducted in order to examine the utility of smartphonebased monitoring in the treatment of mood disorders. This literature review aims to provide an overview of the recent studies on using smartphones for patient monitoring among people suffering from mood disorders, and to discuss the current concerns and risks in the field. Smartphones have been demonstrated to be a valid and potentially useful tool for active monitoring of mood disorder patients. However, further research is needed to establish the validity of automatically generated passive data and effectiveness of smartphone-based interventions.

Keywords

• mood disorders
• major depressive disorder
• bipolar disorder
• smartphones
• mobile phones
• mobile monitoring