Key result
Wearable-detected inactivity linked to ~76% greater next-day panic attack risk in panic disorder.
Why the study?
Panic attacks are transdiagnostic and challenging to manage, but prior work has largely focused on individuals with panic disorder rather than across and without mental health diagnoses.
Do wearable sensor measures from Oura Rings predict next-day panic attacks in young adults with varying mental health conditions?
Observational (n=182)
No
Do wearable sensor measures from Oura Rings predict next-day panic attacks in young adults with varying mental health conditions?
Effect estimate: OR 1.76 (95% CI 1.26-2.50)
p-value: p=0.013
Continuous monitoring of physiological and behavioral patterns via consumer wearables can identify distinct, diagnosis-specific risk factors for next-day panic attacks, potentially enabling targeted preventive interventions.
Suggests physical inactivity may trigger acute anxiety episodes; leaves open whether targeted activity interventions can prevent panic.
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.
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Kairamkonda et al. (2026) conducted an observational in Panic attacks (n=182). Oura Ring passive sensing vs. Different mental health diagnostic groups (Panic Disorder, Depression, No Diagnosis) was evaluated on Next-day panic attack risk associated with wearable sensor features (e.g., time inactive for Panic Disorder) (OR 1.76, 95% CI 1.26-2.50, p=0.013). Wearable sensor measures predicted next-day panic attacks, with increased inactivity raising risk by 76% in panic disorder and high-intensity activity raising risk by 56% in depression.
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