We are thrilled to announce the successful completion of recruitment for The ADHD Remote Technology study of cardiometabolic risk factors and medication adherence (ART-CARMA) Project!
By the end of 2024, ART-CARMA had recruited 154 participants from our King’s College London site, and a further 151 from our Barcelona partner site, the Vall d’Hebron Institute of Research (VHIR) – Vall d’Hebron Institut de Recerca, surpassing our recruitment target of 300 participants. This milestone marks a significant step forward in our journey to better understand ADHD treatment and its impact on cardiometabolic health.
With recruitment complete, all participants have entered the data collection phase. This involves a 12-month monitoring period, during which data is collected from an initial period of pre-treatment through treatment initiation and titration, and onwards.
To capture unobtrusive, real-time data during this period, ART-CARMA utilises innovative passive and active remote monitoring measures.
Participants wear the EmbracePlus wearable device which collects continuous physiological data including:
- Heart rate and variability
- Sleep patterns and activity levels
- Stress markers (electrodermal activity)
- Peripheral temperature
- Oxygen saturation (SpO2)
- Physical activity
The EmbracePlus wearable device is used alongside the RADAR-base smartphone apps during the remote monitoring period:
- Passive App: collects data to measure phone usage, sociability, relative location and background noise and light.
- Active App: Administers questionnaires at different intervals. Participants report daily on medication use, weekly on side effects, and monthly on ADHD symptoms, potential co-occurring symptoms such as anxiety and depression, and lifestyle factors such as diet, alcohol consumption, and smoking.
Cognitive tasks are also administered to participants at three key time points throughout the study: at the beginning of the participants’ study period, six months in, and at the end of the study period. These tasks are designed to assess participants’ attention and response inhibition.
What’s Next?
Our team is preparing to enter the data analysis phase, aiming to explore factors influencing medication adherence and the impact of ADHD medication and physical activity on cardiometabolic risks in adults with ADHD.
We hope that our findings will provide valuable insight to inform clinical guidelines and improve the management of ADHD and cardiometabolic risks.
A huge thank you to our amazing study participants, research teams at KCL and VHIR, ADHD clinics, Empatica and ADDIS for making this milestone possible.
Stay tuned and visit KCL’s ADHD Remote Technology (ART) LinkedIn and Bluesky for exciting updates!
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