Using a wearable device to observe heart rate variability and monitor cancer-related fatigue in adolescent and young adults (AYA)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Using a wearable device to observe heart rate variability and monitor cancer-related fatigue in young adults: A pilot study
IRAS ID
356629
Contact name
Martin McCabe
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Manchester
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 2 months, 3 days
Research summary
The pilot study aims to discover whether heart rate variability could be a physiological biomarker for fatigue in young adult cancer patients. Participants will be recruited from The Christie NHS Trust. The study is sponsored by the University of Manchester. The association between heart rate variability and fatigue will be assessed using a wearable Fitbit smartwatch which participants will be required to continuously wear for 21 days. The participants will be required to complete a fatigue questionnaire on four occasions. The fatigue scores will be evaluated against the daily and weekly averaged heart rate variability values to determine if reduced heart rate variability is associated with a subjective higher score of fatigue. In addition, resting heart rate, sleeping heart rate, total sleep time, daily step total and recorded activities will also be monitored and recorded. The averaged daily and weekly scores for each of these measures will also be compared with the scores of fatigue to determine if a relationship exists. This study could provide evidence that a reduced heart rate variability can be associated with higher fatigue. Moreover, an elevated resting heart rate or sleeping heart rate could also be associated with higher scores of fatigue. Fatigue may also increase in participants who spend less time sleeping as well as in those who complete less time being physically active. The use of a wearable device to monitor these measures, could assist medical professionals to identify those at risk of fatigue during diagnosis, treatment, follow-up and survival in oncology care. This could allow interventions to be accessed earlier so patients experience less fatigue to assist in improving patient reported outcomes during the cancer trajectory and their quality of life during remission.
REC name
West Midlands - Coventry & Warwickshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
25/WM/0192
Date of REC Opinion
7 Oct 2025
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion