Continuous in-the-field measurement of heart rate: Correlates of drug use, craving, stress, and mood in polydrug users

Authors

Ashley P. Kennedy, Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics Research Branch, Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Baltimore, MD, United States.Follow
David H. Epstein, Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics Research Branch, Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Baltimore, MD, United States.
Michelle L. Jobes, Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics Research Branch, Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Baltimore, MD, United States.Follow
Daniel Agage, Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Baltimore, MD, United States.
Matthew Tyburski, Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Baltimore, MD, United States.
Karran A. Phillips, Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics Research Branch, Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Baltimore, MD, United States.
Amin Ahsan Ali, Department of Computer Science, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, United States.
Rummana Bari, Department of Computer Science, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, United States.
Syed Monowar Hossain, Department of Computer Science, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, United States.
Karen Hovsepian, Department of Computer Science, Troy University, Troy, AL, United States.
Md Mahbubur Rahman, Department of Computer Science, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, United States.
Emre Ertin, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United States.
Santosh Kumar, Department of Computer Science, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, United States.
Kenzie L. Preston, Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics Research Branch, Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Baltimore, MD, United States. Electronic address: kpreston@intra.nida.nih.gov.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Ambulatory physiological monitoring could clarify antecedents and consequences of drug use and could contribute to a sensor-triggered mobile intervention that automatically detects behaviorally risky situations. Our goal was to show that such monitoring is feasible and can produce meaningful data. METHODS: We assessed heart rate (HR) with AutoSense, a suite of biosensors that wirelessly transmits data to a smartphone, for up to 4 weeks in 40 polydrug users in opioid-agonist maintenance as they went about their daily lives. Participants also self-reported drug use, mood, and activities on electronic diaries. We compared HR with self-report using multilevel modeling (SAS Proc Mixed). RESULTS: Compliance with AutoSense was good; the data yield from the wireless electrocardiographs was 85.7%. HR was higher when participants reported cocaine use than when they reported heroin use (F(2,9)=250.3, p<.0001) and was also higher as a function of the dose of cocaine reported (F(1,8)=207.7, p<.0001). HR was higher when participants reported craving heroin (F(1,16)=230.9, p<.0001) or cocaine (F(1,14)=157.2, p<.0001) than when they reported of not craving. HR was lower (p<.05) in randomly prompted entries in which participants reported feeling relaxed, feeling happy, or watching TV, and was higher when they reported feeling stressed, being hassled, or walking. CONCLUSIONS: High-yield, high-quality heart-rate data can be obtained from drug users in their natural environment as they go about their daily lives, and the resultant data robustly reflect episodes of cocaine and heroin use and other mental and behavioral events of interest.

Publication Title

Drug and alcohol dependence

Recommended Citation

Kennedy, A. P., Epstein, D. H., Jobes, M. L., Agage, D., Tyburski, M., Phillips, K. A., Ali, A. A., Bari, R., Hossain, S. M., Hovsepian, K., Rahman, M. M., Ertin, E., Kumar, S., & Preston, K. L. (2015). Continuous in-the-field measurement of heart rate: Correlates of drug use, craving, stress, and mood in polydrug users. Drug and alcohol dependence, 151, 159-66. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2015.03.024