Researchers believe that monitoring user activity on smartphones could filter the risk of mortality within five years.
According to a new study conducted by scientists at the University of Illinois, USA, smartphones may have unexpected benefits.
Smartphones may have unexpected benefits.
Specifically, this device, which is considered ubiquitous, can calculate the health risk patterns of users, including the risk of mortality at the population level.
According to Bruce Schatz, the lead researcher, this can be achieved by passively monitoring users’ walking activity through the smartphones they own.
“The sensors on smartphones can accurately predict the risk of mortality within five years for anyone“, Bruce Schatz stated in a post on the journal PLOS Digital Health.
To support this claim, Bruce and his colleagues conducted a screening study based on data from 100,000 survey participants. These individuals wore activity-tracking devices with sensors on their wrists and went about their normal activities for one week.
The data from the sensors was then extracted to the smartphones, with crucial information regarding the intensity of short movements by the users, such as walking short distances and climbing stairs.
By analyzing this data, the research team was able to establish a predictive model for the mortality risk of any user by combining it with traditional demographic characteristics.
The calculations had an accuracy of about 70%, indicating the risk of mortality within five years for anyone. This can be achieved using affordable smartphones, which are accessible to almost everyone.
The scientists assert that based on this research, it is possible to scale up to establish a feasible roadmap for predicting the health risks of populations worldwide.
“I have spent a decade using affordable phones for clinical models of health status,” Bruce Schatz added. “These results have now been tested to predict lifespan at the national population scale.”
