Fitness trackers are the perfect Gadget to control your own Fitness and health and to provide targeted support.

But in addition to the well-known functions such as the step counter or the Monitoring of sleep cycles, the bracelets are supposed to find yet another surprising type of application.

Fitness trackers use two data as flu markers

A recent study, which was published in ‘The Lancet Digital Health’, suggests that the Tracker can help to stop the spread of the flu.

Within the study, the data of about 200,000 subjects, which used to take place between 2016 and 2018, a fitness bracelet of the brand, Fitbit, were analyzed.

The data of the user were then analysed by the researchers – with particular attention to increased heart rates, as well as eye-catching sleep values. Both data can serve as a Marker for the flu.

The average weekly heart deviated frequency of a participant from the normal, and the average sleep duration was also unusual, this was characterized as “abnormal”.

Influenza surveillance in real time

This information, together with the location of the users – the researchers compared with the weekly estimates of Influenza-like cases, the US health authority Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The researchers were able to observe in real time how the health of the people changed, and the Flu predictions at the state level check.

“This information could be of crucial importance to take timely measures to respond to outbreaks and to prevent further Transmission of influenza cases,” says the study.

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The also do not participate in the study an expert in infectious diseases and senior scientist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, Amesh A. Adalja, agrees.

“The health authorities could look at a pattern in a particular city and determine where there are many people with the flu markers“, he explains to the Portal ‘Health’.

These data are useful to understand the areas in which the flu is spreading, to be able to react to it.

Symptoms do not necessarily influenza

“The flu is causing detectable changes in your body, such as an increased heart rate and sleeping disorders,” says Dr. Adalja.

However, this method is not error-free. “These changes are non-specific symptoms,” stresses the expert.

“If the fitness tracker, an increased heart rate or a change in sleep shows a pattern, it does not necessarily mean that one has the flu.”

“Besides, you know, by the time you notice these symptoms, that the health is affected.”

Better technologies for influenza detection is necessary

Although the data from heart rate and sleep patterns can provide only a rough indication of a possible disease, the researcher sees this as a good beginning.

“The better the technology gets, the more analyses can be carried out, and the finer they can be evaluated,“ he summed up.

“But at the Moment it is still a very inaccurate way of looking at the disease cases in the districts.”

Source

• Radin, J. M., et al. (2020): Harnessing wearable device data to improve state-level real-time surveillance of influenza-like illness in the United States: a population-based study, retrieved on 21.01.2020 https://www.thelancet.com/journals/landig/article/PIIS2589-7500(19)30222-5/fulltext

Cornelia Bertram

*The contribution of “coughing and a runny nose coming?: Fitness trackers released flu disease will be able to say in advance” of FitForFun. Contact with the executives here.