Digital Phenotyping of Perceived Stress and Wearable Device Use Among Medical Professionals: A Multicentric Cross-Sectional Study

Background: "Digital Vigilance Paradox" suggests that health-monitoring devices may increase stress for healthcare professionals instead of alleviating it, complicating their already demanding roles. Digital phenotyping offers a novel approach to objectively quantify behavioral and psychological health markers. Objectives: 1. To quantify the relationship between wearable device usages patterns and PSS-10 (Perceived Stress Scale) levels 2. To analyse gender-specific dimensions and latent psychological dimensions and create digital phenotypes for clinical assessment and timely intervention. Methods: Cross-sectional, multicentric study conducted to investigates the relationship between wearable device usage and perceived stress among 349 Indian medical professionals. Utilizing the modified PSS-10, Structured Questionnaire: Captured demographics, device usage patterns, and menstrual tracking behaviors. Inclusion criteria: age 18–65 years, active wearable use (>1 month) Results: Utilizing the PSS-10, identified a mean stress score of 15.38 (±6.41), with significant variations across cities (χ²=15.703, p=0.015), gender (χ²=8.437, p=0.015), and professional hierarchy (χ²=22.860, p=0.029). Females exhibited higher stress (65.8% moderate stress vs. 57.0% males), tracking menstrual health discrepancies (18.8% high stress, p=0.001). Cluster analysis revealed three psychological profiles: Low-Stress Casual Users (32.4%), Proactive Balanced Users (41.5%), and High-Stress Over-Monitors (26.1%), with the latter group demonstrating anxiety traits. Short-term users exhibited peak stress (PSS=16.97±5.804), suggesting an "adaptation phase" to device engagement. Conclusion : Digital Vigilance Paradox highlights wearables as both health tools and anxiety triggers for medical professionals, influenced by learned behaviors and gender, potentially increasing stress in vulnerable groups through hypervigilance. Digital Phenotyping validated three used profiles, enabling personalized care strategy, require urgent intervention like automated Tele-MANAS referrals.