Circadian rhythm biomarker from wearable device data is related to concurrent antidepressant treatment response

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is associated with circadian rhythm disruption. Yet, no circadian rhythm biomarkers have been clinically validated for assessing antidepressant response. In this study, 40 participants with MDD provided actigraphy data using wearable devices for one week after initiating antidepressant treatment in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Their depression severity was calculated pretreatment, after one week and eight weeks of treatment. This study assesses the relationship between parametric and nonparametric measures of circadian rhythm and change in depression. Results show significant association between a lower circadian quotient (reflecting less robust rhythmicity) and improvement in depression from baseline following first week of treatment (estimate = 0.11, F = 7.01, P = 0.01). There is insufficient evidence of an association between circadian rhythm measures acquired during the first week of treatment and outcomes after eight weeks of treatment. Despite this lack of association with future treatment outcome, this scalable, cost-effective biomarker may be useful for timely mental health care through remote monitoring of real-time changes in current depression.