The promise of digital phenotyping for the early detection of risk for depression in adolescents – Nature Mental Health

the-promise-of-digital-phenotyping-for-the-early-detection-of-risk-for-depression-in-adolescents-–-nature-mental-health
  • Comment
  • Published:

Nature Mental Health (2026) Cite this article

Subjects

Advances in consumer wearables and machine learning enable the continuous detection of depression risk through behavioral and physiological data. In this Comment, we emphasize the crucial need to apply these technologies to adolescents, highlighting the potential for early detection and prevention of depression during this pivotal developmental stage.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Subscribe to this journal

Receive 12 digital issues and online access to articles

79,00 € per year

only 6,58 € per issue

Buy this article

  • Purchase on SpringerLink
  • Instant access to the full article PDF.

39,95 €

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: Clinical staging model for depression.

References

  1. Liu, Z. & Kuai, M. BMC Psychiatry 25, 767 (2025).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  2. Proudman, D., Greenberg, P. & Nellesen, D. Pharmacoeconomics 39, 619–625 (2021).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  3. Wang, P. S. et al. Lancet 370, 841–850 (2007).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  4. Luttinen, J. et al. J. Affect. Disord. 376, 189–205 (2025).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. McGorry, P., Gunasiri, H., Mei, C., Rice, S. & Gao, C. X. Front. Psychiatry 15, 1517533 (2025).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  6. Mohr, D. C., Lyon, A. R., Lattie, E. G., Reddy, M. & Schueller, S. M. J. Med. Internet Res. 19, e153 (2017).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  7. Mullick, T., Radovic, A., Shaaban, S. & Doryab, A. JMIR Form. Res. 6, e35807 (2022).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  8. Chen, W. et al. BMC Psychiatry 25, 497 (2025).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  9. Kandola, A., Lewis, G., Osborn, D. P. J., Stubbs, B. & Hayes, J. F. Lancet Psychiatry 7, 262–271 (2020).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  10. Fisher, H. et al. npj Digit. Med. 9, 273 (2026).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  11. Abd-Alrazaq, A. et al. npj Digit. Med. 6, 84 (2023).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  12. Sequeira, L. et al. J. Affect. Disord. 265, 314–324 (2020).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. McGorry, P. D., Nelson, B., Goldstone, S. & Yung, A. R. Can. J. Psychiatry 55, 486–497 (2010).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

Preparation of this Comment was facilitated by National Institute of Mental Health grant R37MH101495 to I.H.G. and a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship to E.G.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA

    Eugenia Giampetruzzi, Chase Antonacci & Ian H. Gotlib

  2. Neurosciences Interdepartmental Program, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA

    Chase Antonacci

Authors

  1. Eugenia Giampetruzzi
  2. Chase Antonacci
  3. Ian H. Gotlib

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Eugenia Giampetruzzi.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Giampetruzzi, E., Antonacci, C. & Gotlib, I.H. The promise of digital phenotyping for the early detection of risk for depression in adolescents. Nat. Mental Health (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44220-026-00679-5

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Version of record:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s44220-026-00679-5

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *