Apple is partnering with the University of California, Los Angeles on a three-year depression study (via CNBC).
UCLA Depression Study
The study will examine how factors like sleep, physical activity, heart rate, and daily routines impact symptoms of depression and anxiety. It will use data collected from the iPhone, Apple Watch, and the Beddit sleep tracker that Apple acquired in 2017.
Dr. John Torous, the director of digital psychiatry of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center:
I think it’s really exciting. This shows that digital mental health research is really accelerating, and we’re moving to the next phase of development. These are large-scale studies really trying to answer core questions about whether these digital technologies will work for mental health.
There will be 150 participants in the study recruited among UCLA Health patients. The next phase will expand to 3,000 participants from the hospital and study body. Participants will download an app on their iPhone and receive a Beddit sleep monitor and an Apple Watch for the duration of the study.