Document Type
Article
Department
Brain and Mind Institute
Abstract
Background: Vitality is essential to healthy aging but is elusive to define and measure.Dynamic capture of fluctuations in vitality can uncover abnormal trajectories thatcould be a harbinger of frailty in older adults. Yet, these fluctuations are missed bystatic and/or sparse sampling strategies. To address the need for dynamic and high-density capture of vitality in older adults, we developed a passive sensing and activeprobing digital platform using wearable devices and smartphones. We deployed thisparadigm in older Kenyan adults and evaluated its potential for use in research on thedynamics of accelerated aging.
Method: Cognitively unimpaired (CU) Kenyan adults ≥ 35 years of age (N = 79) wereprovided with the Fitbit Inspire 3 device to sense heart rate, sleep, and physical activityover the course of 12 months. At baseline, they completed neurocognitive screeningto confirm CU status. A novel 10-item Vitality Index (VI) was developed and deliveredweekly through a mobile phone app to assess fluctuations in health, strength, energy,pain, sleep, mood, and focus, alongside a brief spatial working memory task. Here,we evaluate adherence, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and convergentvalidity of the VI against gold standard measures of depression (PHQ-9), anxiety(GAD-7), and flourishing.
Results: Data from 79 participants [53 m / 25 f /1 intersex; median education: 12 y;mean age (sd)=49 (9.7) y; age range: 35-74 y] show that 97% of participants wear theirdevice at least 95% of the time. Weekly VI completion averages 85% and weekly spatialmemory task completion averages 96%. The VI shows good internal consistency (week1 α = 0.75) and test-retest reliability (r=0.73; p < 0.001). VI is positively negativelycorrelated with depression (r=-0.34; p < 0.01) and anxiety (r=-0.37; p < 0.01) butpositively correlated with flourishing (r=0.27; p < 0.01)
AKU Student
no
Publication (Name of Journal)
Alzheimer's & Dementia
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/alz70856_103471
Recommended Citation
Blackmon, K.,
Alaka, B.,
Onyancha, C.,
Musili, L.,
Kamau, R.,
Mostert, C.,
Saleh, M.,
Merali, Z.,
Momoh, C.,
Thesen, T.
(2025). Vitality tracking in Kenyan adults using wearable devices and ecological momentary assessments. Alzheimer's & Dementia, 1-2.
Available at:
https://ecommons.aku.edu/bmi/494
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.