Using wearable activity trackers to distinguish COVID-19 from flu

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Using wearable activity trackers to distinguish COVID-19 from flu

By analyzing Fitbit data and self-reported symptoms, researchers from Evidation Health and collaborators analyzed trends in heart rate, step count, and symptom duration between patients with flu and those with COVID-19. While both showed similar-looking spikes in resting heart rate and decreases in average step count, COVID-19 symptoms lasted longer and peaked later. Contrasting and comparing flu and COVID-19 is important for COVID-19 screening, as current practices often only check for more general symptoms like fever. The study was conducted using Evidation’s app and network, Achievement—a connected cohort comprised of over 4 million individuals nationwide. The results appear December 12 in the journal Patterns.

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