Decoding menstrual health across the lifespan: a scoping review of digital health tools in research.

Abstract

Digital health tools provide longitudinal physiological and behavioural data that can address knowledge gaps in women's health. This is particularly relevant for understanding hormone-driven physiological changes and symptoms, which impact health and performance across the lifespan. We conducted a scoping review of research using wearables or smartphone applications to identify insights about physiology, health behaviours, and symptoms throughout the menstrual cycle and menopausal transition. We identified 40 original articles. We summarise findings that reproduce lab-based results, giving confidence in the use of digital health tools for studying menstrual health, along with new insights gained. Given the importance of validation against gold standards, and the lack of a prior synthesis of wearable accuracy for women's health applications, we next report the accuracy of wearables that measure biometrics relevant to menstrual health. Finally, we discuss future research needs, including understanding physiological changes during perimenopause, and the role of health behaviours in symptom management.