Causal dynamics of sleep, circadian rhythm, and mood symptoms in patients with major depression and bipolar disorder: insights from longitudinal wearable device data

Yun Min Song, Jaegwon Jeong, Aurelio A. de los Reyes, Dongju Lim, Chul Hyun Cho, Ji Won Yeom, Taek Lee, Jung Been Lee, Heon Jeong Lee, Jae Kyoung Kim

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    5 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Background: Sleep and circadian rhythm disruptions are common in patients with mood disorders. The intricate relationship between these disruptions and mood has been investigated, but their causal dynamics remain unknown. Methods: We analysed data from 139 patients (76 female, mean age = 23.5 ± 3.64 years) with mood disorders who participated in a prospective observational study in South Korea. The patients wore wearable devices to monitor sleep and engaged in smartphone-delivered ecological momentary assessment of mood symptoms. Using a mathematical model, we estimated their daily circadian phase based on sleep data. Subsequently, we obtained daily time series for sleep/circadian phase estimates and mood symptoms spanning >40,000 days. We analysed the causal relationship between the time series using transfer entropy, a non-linear causal inference method. Findings: The transfer entropy analysis suggested causality from circadian phase disturbance to mood symptoms in both patients with MDD (n = 45) and BD type I (n = 35), as 66.7% and 85.7% of the patients with a large dataset (>600 days) showed causality, but not in patients with BD type II (n = 59). Surprisingly, no causal relationship was suggested between sleep phase disturbances and mood symptoms. Interpretation: Our findings suggest that in patients with mood disorders, circadian phase disturbances directly precede mood symptoms. This underscores the potential of targeting circadian rhythms in digital medicine, such as sleep or light exposure interventions, to restore circadian phase and thereby manage mood disorders effectively. Funding: Institute for Basic Science, the Human Frontiers Science Program Organization, the National Research Foundation of Korea, and the Ministry of Health & Welfare of South Korea.

    Original languageEnglish
    Article number105094
    JournalEBioMedicine
    Volume103
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2024 May

    Bibliographical note

    Publisher Copyright:
    © 2024 The Author(s)

    Keywords

    • Bipolar disorder
    • Causality
    • Circadian rhythm
    • Major depressive disorder
    • Mathematical modelling
    • Sleep

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • General Biochemistry,Genetics and Molecular Biology

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