The Apple Watch can accurately determine a user’s “frailty,” according to the results of a recently published study from Stanford University.
Like MyHealthyApple reported, Apple Watch can determine frailty using a six-minute walk test (6MWT). The metric is a common standard to evaluate a patient's functional mobility and physical capacity. Higher scores indicate healthier cardiac, respiratory, circulatory, and neuromuscular function," according to Apple. For the study, conducted by researchers at Stanford University and funded by Apple, 110 patients with cardiovascular disease received an iPhone 7 and an Apple Watch Series 3 from the Veterans Affairs. The patients performed regular six-minute walk tests at home, which were then compared to their standard 6MWT performance in the clinic.
Apple Watch: Passive activity data is the predictor of 6MWT performance
The study found that an Apple smartwatch was able to accurately assess frailty with a sensitivity of 90 percent and a specificity of 85 percent when monitored in a clinical setting. When measured unsupervised at home, the Apple Watch was able to accurately assess frailty with a sensitivity of 83 percent and a specificity of 60 percent. The results suggest that passive activity data collected by the Apple Watch is an accurate predictor of clinical 6MWT performance.
In this longitudinal observational study, passive activity data collected using an iPhone and Apple Watch were an accurate predictor of 6MWT performance in the clinic. This finding suggests that frailty and functional capacity in patients with cardiovascular disease could be monitored and evaluated remotely, allowing for safer and higher resolution patient monitoring.
watchOS 7 includes a number of mobility-related health metrics
While the study used a specially developed app called "VascTrac" to capture 6MWT data alongside passively collected activity data from the smartwatch, Apple has since included a number of new mobility-related health metrics in watchOS 7, including the 6MWT. It's likely that preliminary data from studies like this one encouraged Apple to add the metrics to watchOS 7. The research findings could encourage healthcare providers to offer patients with cardiovascular disease at-home assessments of functional capacity using an Apple Watch. (Photo by Vladimka / Bigstockphoto)
