Most people have a set pattern or routine of certain behaviors, including activities, every day. For example, some people are more active in the morning, while others move more in the evening. This is known as a person’s daily activity pattern.

Past research has shown that consistently vigorous daily activity patterns are associated with better health. cardiometabolic profilemay help lower a person’s blood pressure. cardiovascular disease risk.

Researchers have also linked regular daily activity patterns to: better recognition, mental healththe health status of the elderly has improved.

A study published in May 2018 reported that daily activity patterns in older men may be biomarkers that predict clinically relevant changes in mortality and changes in sleep and cognition. .

And in a study published in October 2019, fragmented Daily activity patterns were associated with increased risk of death in older adults.

For this study, the researchers studied data generated by a watch-like device. actigraph It was worn by 82 cognitively healthy older adults who participated in the long-term Baltimore Aging Longitudinal Study.

“For decades, sleep researchers have used wrist-worn actigraphs to study sleep in older adults,” said Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health Professor of Mental Health. , explained Dr. Adam Spira, lead author of the study.to Today’s medical news.

“Technology usually Accelerometer — similar to those used in commercial fitness trackers that many people use,” he noted.

“Due to growing evidence that: Sleeping disorder Because of its potential to contribute to Alzheimer’s disease risk, my colleagues and I are working with the National Institute on Aging (NIA) to study the link between sleep deprivation and Alzheimer’s disease, including through the use of wrist actigraphy. ,” Dr. Spira added. “We received that grant and this study is a direct result of that.”

Of the 82 study participants, with an average age of 76 years, some had detectable amounts of the protein. beta amyloid In your brain. amyloid plaques It is considered to be one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease.

Analyzing data collected by an actigraphy device, the researchers found that between a group of 25 “amyloid positive” and a group of 57 “amyloid negative” participants, They reported that there was a significant difference in the average amount of activity, and that there was also a difference in the fluctuation of activity. His activities throughout the day over a wider time frame.

Scientists found that people in the ‘amyloid-positive’ group had higher average activity levels in the early afternoon (1pm to 3:30pm) and daily activity levels from 1:30pm to 4pm. We found that there was little change in the amount of activity.7:30pm – 10:30pm

“Our results are noteworthy because, in cognitively normal people, people with detectable beta-amyloid in their brains exhibit different activity during certain times of the day than those without beta-amyloid. Because we’ve shown that there is a pattern,” Dr. Spira said. “This is a new discovery.”

“It will be important to follow people who exhibit activity patterns like those we have associated with the presence of beta-amyloid to see if they are at increased risk for subsequent cognitive decline,” he continued. “It would also be interesting to see whether these 24-hour patterns predict the development of beta-amyloid in people who do not have it.”

Although researchers used a science-based wristwatch device in this study, people may someday detect early warning signs of Alzheimer’s disease through mainstream fitness and activity trackers such as Fitbit, Garmin, and Apple Watch. Will it be possible?

At this point, Dr. Spira said people should not try to interpret data from their devices as an indication of whether they have amyloid in their brain.

“Whether these methods can be used for early detection of Alzheimer’s disease in the future depends on further research confirming our findings or identifying other ‘digital signatures’ of Alzheimer’s disease that can be detected using wearable devices.” It depends on whether or not,” he explained.

“Then it’s conceivable that wearable devices could one day help identify people at high risk for neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease. But we’re not there yet.” warned Dr. Spira.

After reviewing the study, Dr. Clifford Segill, a neurologist at Providence St. John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California, confirmed that he was not involved in the study. MNT He said he was perplexed by the study because Alzheimer’s disease is a memory loss disorder, not a movement disorder.

“The data support that amyloid-positive older adults in this study were more mobile in the early afternoon and less variable in the late afternoon and evening,” Dr. Segill explained.

“The authorssunsetThis is a phenomenon in which Alzheimer’s disease patients become more agitated at night. My guess is that older adults who are excited have more variability in their movements than older adults who are not excited. ”

– Dr. Clifford Segill

“I do not believe that wearable recording ‘wrist actigraphy’ will be used clinically in the future to diagnose memory loss disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease,” he continued.

“It is normal to become less active as we age, and other complications such as heart disease are more of a concern. neurological disorder, or other medical problems other than dementia. “I would love to see this methodology applied to the diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease, a neuromotor disorder,” he said.

MNT We also spoke with Dr. Jennifer Bramen, a senior research scientist at the Pacific Neuroscience Institute in Santa Monica, Calif., who was wondering if the findings are specific to Alzheimer’s disease or other diseases such as Alzheimer’s. He commented that it was too early to conclude whether the patient was exhibiting another comprehensive symptom. Sleep disorders are common in Alzheimer’s disease patients.

“It may be worthwhile to conduct similar studies in people with and without sleep disorders to assess the potential of this technology to detect conditions such as sleep apnea,” Dr. Brammen said. continued. “This is because it is common and an established modifiable risk factor for heart disease, stroke, and Alzheimer’s disease.”

Asked if people would be able to use mainstream fitness trackers to detect early warning signs of Alzheimer’s disease in the future, she said: “Wrist-worn devices could be used to detect Alzheimer’s disease. I’m skeptical.”

“These devices can make mistakes, cause unnecessary suffering, and burden the health care system with unwarranted tests on healthy patients, while diagnosing people with true disabilities. may be delayed,” experts warned.