Optical pulse sensors predict mortality in older adults
In 1,956 adults aged 60 and older followed for a median of 10.2 years, optical heart rhythm readings matched electrocardiograms and predicted all-cause mortality.
Limit: Recordings were taken at a single clinical visit rather than during daily life
Edited by Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
In an observational cohort study in Germany, researchers enrolled 1,956 adults aged 60 years and older between August 2013 and February 2015 and followed them for a median of 10.2 years. At enrollment, participants received simultaneous recordings from an electrocardiogram, which tracks electrical heart signals, and photoplethysmography, an optical sensor that detects blood flow changes. The researchers calculated heart rate variability, the beat-to-beat changes in rhythm that reflect autonomic nervous system activity.
Optical measurements closely matched electrocardiogram values, including a correlation of 0.86 for deceleration capacity, a measure of how the nervous system slows the heart. Over the follow-up period, deceleration capacity measured optically was the strongest predictor of all-cause mortality among the tested metrics. Participants with reduced deceleration capacity, below 4.5 milliseconds, had significantly higher mortality.
Why it matters
Autonomic nervous system function declines with age, increasing susceptibility to cardiovascular disease and early mortality. Tracking these changes with consumer optical sensors could help identify older adults at elevated risk before clinical symptoms appear.
Caveats
The observational study shows an association rather than a causal link, and recordings were taken at a single clinical visit rather than during daily life. In addition, the participants were all aged 60 and older from Germany, so the findings may not apply to younger people or broader populations.
- Photoplethysmography
- Digital and wearable data
- Heart rate
- Heart rate variability
- Deceleration capacity
- Humans
