Paperdoi:10.3389/fdgth.2026.1764371
Oura ring measures associated with next-day panic attacks differ across mental-health diagnoses (Kairamkonda … R. McGinnis; Front Digit Health 2026, LEMURS)
Frontiers in Digital Health 8:1764371, published 2026-04-20
(opens in a new tab)Dheeraj Dhanvee Kairamkonda et al., "Exploration of wearable sensor measures associated with panic attacks differs across mental health conditions", doi:10.3389/fdgth.2026.1764371, CC BY 4.0
TL;DR
Part of lemurs. In 2023-24, 525 first- and second-year UVM students were enrolled; daily surveys ran in four 21-day intervals (84 surveys per participant over 252 days) and included a panic-attack item. 197 (38%) reported at least one panic attack; 182 remained after excluding missing sex (6) or Oura data (9): ACE-present 154 / absent 28, 507 panic days in 28,389 participant-days.
- Form factor: finger ring (Oura; generation not stated in this paper)
Abstract
Panic attacks (PAs) are acute anxiety episodes that are pervasive, with one in 10 individuals having experienced a PA in the past year. PAs impair daily functioning and are associated with an increase in emergency room visits and suicide attempts. Despite their impact, the unpredictable nature of PAs makes them challenging to manage. PAs are transdiagnostic, occurring in individuals across and without a mental health diagnosis. However, prior work has largely focused on PA indications within individuals with panic disorder. This study identifies PA risk factors from over 6 months of passive sensing data recorded by Oura Rings in 182 young adults with and without adverse childhood experiences and psychiatric diagnoses, beyond just panic disorder. Our findings reveal that changes in Oura Ring–derived measures are associated with next-day PAs, with distinct associations observed across different mental health diagnoses. For individuals with panic disorder, the likelihood of PA increases with time spent inactive. For those with depression, the likelihood of PA increases with decreased variation in nightly respiratory rate, decreased rapid eye movement sleep, and increased time spent in high-intensity activity. For those without a mental health diagnosis, the likelihood of PA increases with decreased heart rate variability. Data aggregation window sizes that capture the associations with PA risk vary by diagnosis and the type of feature, suggesting that cumulative physiological patterns from windows up to 7 days before a PA contribute to onset. These findings point to the possibility that continuous monitoring of panic attack risk could one day support preventive mental health intervention.
Verbatim from the publisher's DOI record (opens in a new tab) · Publisher licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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Kairamkonda, D. D., McGinnis, E. W., Price, M., Hidalgo, J. E., Kim, J., Llorin, J., Stanton, K., Bloomfield, L. S. P., Fudolig, M., Ha, J., Noble, N., Cherian, J., Mascia, G., O'Connell, N. S., Fanning, J., Dodds, P. S., Danforth, C. M., & McGinnis, R. S. (2026). Oura ring measures associated with next-day panic attacks differ across mental-health diagnoses (Kairamkonda … R. McGinnis; Front Digit Health 2026, LEMURS). Frontiers in Digital Health, 8, 1764371. https://doi.org/10.3389/fdgth.2026.1764371
Kairamkonda, Dheeraj Dhanvee, Ellen W. McGinnis, Matthew Price, Johanna E. Hidalgo, Julia Kim, Jordan Llorin, and Kathryn Stanton, et al. 2026. "Oura ring measures associated with next-day panic attacks differ across mental-health diagnoses (Kairamkonda … R. McGinnis; Front Digit Health 2026, LEMURS)." Frontiers in Digital Health 8: 1764371. https://doi.org/10.3389/fdgth.2026.1764371.
Kairamkonda, D. D., McGinnis, E. W., Price, M., Hidalgo, J. E., Kim, J., Llorin, J. and Stanton, K. et al. (2026) 'Oura ring measures associated with next-day panic attacks differ across mental-health diagnoses (Kairamkonda … R. McGinnis; Front Digit Health 2026, LEMURS)', Frontiers in Digital Health, 8, p. 1764371. doi: 10.3389/fdgth.2026.1764371.
Kairamkonda, Dheeraj Dhanvee, et al. "Oura ring measures associated with next-day panic attacks differ across mental-health diagnoses (Kairamkonda … R. McGinnis; Front Digit Health 2026, LEMURS)." Frontiers in Digital Health, vol. 8, 2026, p. 1764371. https://doi.org/10.3389/fdgth.2026.1764371.
D. D. Kairamkonda et al., "Oura ring measures associated with next-day panic attacks differ across mental-health diagnoses (Kairamkonda … R. McGinnis; Front Digit Health 2026, LEMURS)," Frontiers in Digital Health, vol. 8, p. 1764371, 2026, doi: 10.3389/fdgth.2026.1764371.
@article{kairamkonda2026oura,
title = {{Oura ring measures associated with next-day panic attacks differ across mental-health diagnoses (Kairamkonda … R. McGinnis; Front Digit Health 2026, LEMURS)}},
author = {Kairamkonda, Dheeraj Dhanvee and McGinnis, Ellen W. and Price, Matthew and Hidalgo, Johanna E. and Kim, Julia and Llorin, Jordan and Stanton, Kathryn and Bloomfield, Laura S. P. and Fudolig, Mikaela and Ha, Jennifer and Noble, Natalie and Cherian, Josh and Mascia, Guido and O'Connell, Nathaniel S. and Fanning, Jason and Dodds, Peter Sheridan and Danforth, Christopher M. and McGinnis, Ryan S.},
year = {2026},
journal = {Frontiers in Digital Health},
volume = {8},
pages = {1764371},
doi = {10.3389/fdgth.2026.1764371}
}Added to the ChatPPG research hub
