Evidence of Differences in Diurnal Electrodermal Patterns by Mental Health Status in Free-Living Data
Abstract
Electrodermal activity (EDA) is a standardized measure of sympathetic arousal that has been linked to depression in laboratory experiments. However, the inability to measure EDA passively over time and in the real-world has limited conclusions that can be drawn about EDA as an indicator of mental health status outside of a controlled setting. Recent smartwatches have begun to incorporate wrist-worn continuous EDA sensors that enable longitudinal measurement in every-day life. This work presents the first example of passively collected, diurnal variations in EDA present in people with depression, anxiety and perceived stress. Subjects who were depressed had higher tonic EDA and heart rate, despite not engaging in greater physical activity, compared to those that were not depressed. EDA measurements showed differences between groups that were most prominent during the early morning. We did not observe amplitude or phase differences in the diurnal patterns.
