Apple and UCLA Launch Depression and Anxiety Study

Apple is teaming up with the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) to launch a three-year study to understand how sleep, physical activity, heart rate, and daily routine can impact anxiety and depression (via CNBC).

watchos7sleepmode
Kicking off this week, the study was co-designed by researchers at UCLA and Apple, and it will utilize the iPhone, Apple Watch, and Beddit sleep tracker that Apple owns and sells. UCLA and Apple hope the study will "revolutionize detection and treatment of depression."

Connecting quantifiable data like heart rate, sleep, and physical activity to anxiety and depression symptoms has the potential to allow health care providers to note warning signs and prevent the onset of depressive episodes, track treatments, and find depression causes. From UCLA psychiatry professor Dr. Nelson Freimer, who is the study's principal investigator:

"This collaboration, which harnesses UCLA's deep research expertise and Apple's innovative technology, has the potential to transform behavioral health research and clinical care. Current approaches to treating depression rely almost entirely on the subjective recollections of depression sufferers. This is an important step for obtaining objective and precise measurements that guide both diagnosis and treatment."

"UCLA and Apple have designed this study so that all aspects of participation can be accomplished remotely. The pandemic has heightened anxiety and depression globally, and has increased awareness of the importance of behavioral health to overall wellbeing. At the same time, physical distancing requirements have limited in-person mental health assessment and treatment, leading to expanded use and acceptance of telehealth. These changes highlight the importance of incorporating technologies like those to be tested in this study into clinical research and eventually into practice."

The pilot phase of the study begins this week and will involve 150 participants recruited from UCLA Health patients. The main phases of the study will take place from 2021 through 2023 and will involve 3,000 participants drawn from UCLA Health patients and the UCLA student body, so this is not a study that can be undertaken using Apple's Health app.

Study participants will download a UCLA research app on their iPhones and will receive an Apple Watch and Beddit sleep monitor as part of the study.

Data from study participants will be kept safe with access limited to members of the UCLA research team. Data will be analyzed by Apple and UCLA after being coded and stripped of names and other contact information.

Tags: Health, UCLA

Top Rated Comments

citysnaps Avatar
34 months ago
Excellent! Thats a major illness, often ignored or suppressed, that affects so many people.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
td2243 Avatar
34 months ago
2020 has been extremely hard for some people. Coming from someone that almost took his own life three weeks ago, this is encouraging.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Apple Freak Avatar
34 months ago
Awesome! I love to see health studies like this.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Todd Fisher Avatar
34 months ago
I LOVE THIS! I wish it was already completed, but better late than never.... Looking forward to watching how this study works out over the coming years.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
chucker23n1 Avatar
34 months ago
It’s a bummer these studies are always so California-centric. I guess Apple has the best connections there, but you’d think geographical diversity would be scientifically useful.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ghanwani Avatar
34 months ago
Apple users are so happy because of Apple's awesome products that they are neither depressed nor anxious. As a result, this study will probably not be very useful.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 15 Pro Buttons CAD Leak

iPhone 15 Pro Leak Reveals Unified Volume Button and Mute Button

Monday March 20, 2023 8:33 am PDT by
As previously rumored, the next-generation iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max will feature a unified volume button and a mute button, according to leaked CAD images shared in a video on the Chinese version of TikTok and posted to Twitter by ShrimpApplePro. Instead of separate buttons for volume up and volume down, the iPhone 15 Pro models are expected to have a single elongated button for...
original iphone auction

Factory-Sealed Original iPhone Sells for $55,000 at Auction

Friday March 17, 2023 1:08 pm PDT by
A first-generation iPhone still sealed inside its box sold for $54,904 at auction, which is more than $54,000 over the original $599 price tag of the device when it was released in 2007. The original iPhone was put up for sale by RR Auction on behalf of a former Apple employee who purchased it back when it first came out. Back in February, an original, sealed iPhone sold for over $63,000,...
iPhone 12 Pro vs iPhone 15 Pro Feature

iPhone 12 Pro vs. 15 Pro: New Features to Expect if You've Waited to Upgrade

Friday March 17, 2023 10:29 am PDT by
While year-over-year iPhone upgrades are not always groundbreaking, new features can begin to stack up over multiple generations. For example, the iPhone 15 Pro will be a notable upgrade for those who still have a three-year-old iPhone 12 Pro. If you are still using an iPhone 12 Pro and are considering upgrading to the iPhone 15 Pro when it launches later this year, we have put together a...
top stories 18mar2023

Top Stories: iPhone 15 Pro Pricing, New iOS 16.4 Beta, Siri vs. ChatGPT, and More

Saturday March 18, 2023 6:00 am PDT by
Apple's high-end iPhone models have started at $999 in the U.S. since they first launched back in 2017 with the iPhone X, but could this finally be the year that starting price sees an increase? This week also saw some more rumors about Apple's upcoming headset and the company's explorations in the booming AI industry as well as the release of a new round of beta updates, so read on for all...
iPhone 15 Pro Mock Feature Buttonless

iPhone 15 Pro Max to 'Break Record' for Thinnest Bezels on a Smartphone

Friday March 17, 2023 2:59 am PDT by
The iPhone 15 Pro Max will have the thinnest bezels of any smartphone, beating the record currently held by the Xiaomi 13. That's according to the leaker known as "Ice Universe," who has divulged accurate information about Apple's plans in the past. Both iPhone 15 Pro models are expected to have thinner, curved bezels compared to the iPhone 14 Pro, potentially resulting in an Apple...
iphone 14 pro max deep purple feature purple

iPhone 15 Pro Launching This Year With These 11 New Features

Monday March 13, 2023 6:47 am PDT by
While the iPhone 15 lineup is around six months away, there have already been plenty of rumors about the devices. Many new features and changes are expected for the iPhone 15 Pro models in particular, including a titanium frame and more. Below, we have recapped 11 features rumored for iPhone 15 Pro models that are not expected to be available on the standard iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus:A17...
iOS 16

iOS 16.4 for iPhone Nearing Launch With These 5 New Features

Monday March 20, 2023 11:50 am PDT by
Apple continues to test iOS 16.4, which includes a handful of new features and changes for the iPhone. Below, we have recapped five new features coming with the software update, including new emoji, push notifications from websites, and more. Apple says iOS 16.4 will be available in the spring, which begins today. In his newsletter this weekend, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the update should ...