Movement patterns in women at risk for perinatal depression: use of a mood-monitoring mobile application in pregnancy.
OBJECTIVE
To examine, using a smartphone application, whether mood is related to daily movement patterns in pregnant women at risk for perinatal depression.


METHODS
Thirty-six women with elevated depression symptoms (PHQ-9 ≥ 5) in pregnancy used the application for 8 weeks. Mood was reported using application-administered surveys daily (2 questions) and weekly (PHQ-9 and GAD-7). The application measured daily mobility (distance travelled on foot) and travel radius. Generalized linear mixed-effects regression models estimated the association between mood and movement.


RESULTS
Women with milder depression symptoms had a larger daily radius of travel (2.7 miles) than women with more severe symptoms (1.9 miles), P  = .04. There was no difference in mobility. A worsening of mood from the prior day was associated with a contracted radius of travel, as was being in the group with more severe symptoms. No significant relationships were found between anxiety and either mobility or radius.


CONCLUSIONS
We found that the association of mood with radius of travel was more pronounced than its association with mobility. Our study also demonstrated that a change in mood from the prior day was significantly associated with radius but not mood on the same day that mobility and radius were measured.


CONCLUSIONS
This study lays the groundwork for future research on how smartphone mood-monitoring applications can combine actively and passively collected data to better understand the relationship between the symptoms of perinatal depression and physical activity that could lead to improved monitoring and novel interventions.
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholars Program, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Laura J
LJ
Faherty
Department of Psychiatry, Penn Center for Women's Behavioral Wellness, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Liisa
L
Hantsoo
Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Dina
D
Appleby
Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Mary D
MD
Sammel
Department of Family Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.|Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA.
Ian M
IM
Bennett
Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Douglas J
DJ
Wiebe
D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D015444:Exercise / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D063731:Mobile Applications; D011247:Pregnancy; D057566:Self Report; D000068997:Smartphone; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
ecologic momentary assessment; mobile application; perinatal depression; smartphone application