Basal Temperature Monitoring Using BodyMedia SenseWear® Versus a Digital Oral Thermometer: a Comparative Study
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Abstract
Background: Basal body temperature (BBT) monitoring is a well-validated, non-invasive method to detect ovulation. We are conducting a broadly-focused study of young women’s health – the Young Female Health Initiative (YFHI) - examining many aspects of health and well-being. The BodyMedia SenseWear® (BMSW) device can capture a number of relevant physiological measures including skin temperature and is being evaluated for use in YFHI.
Objective: We examined the potential use of BMSW to monitor ovulation in young women by measuring basal skin temperature (BST) and comparison with BBT measured using a digital oral thermometer.
Methods: We recruited 16 – 25 year-old women residing in Victoria, Australia, via Facebook advertising, to participate in YFHI health research; 50 respondents (19 oral contraceptive users; 31 oral contraceptive non-users) consented to participate in the present study. Participants were asked to wear the BMSW according to manufacturer’s instructions, upon going to bed each night until rising from bed the following morning, for 1 complete menstrual cycle. Participants also measured their oral temperature with a digital thermometer using a standard protocol each morning before rising or any activity or oral intake, recording results using the mobile phone app WomanLog Pro® or a paper diary. Mean temperatures recorded by BMSW for 10 – 120 minutes before awakening were compared with digital oral temperatures taken immediately on awakening, using Pearson correlations and Bland-Altman (B-A) plots. Visual and quantitative (mean temperature method, Vollman 1997) were used to detect evidence of ovulation. The level of agreement between methods was determined using Kappa statistics.
Results: Due to time limitations, study packages were sent to 24 participants. Of those, 4 completed all study requirements and 11 returned incomplete temperature records. Results of all participants were pooled to compare temperature measurement methods. BMSW temperatures were significantly lower than those recorded using the thermometer (mean [standard deviation]: 34.6 [1.2] versus 36.4 [0.3] C respectively, p < 0.001) and were spread over a much wider range (29.7 – 36.7 versus 35.3 – 37.2 C respectively). Mean BMSW temperatures recorded over intervals ranging 10 – 120 minutes before waking did not correlate with oral temperatures, nor was there significant agreement between methods revealed by B-A plots. There was fair to poor agreement between temperature measurement methods in determination of ovulation (kappa statistic 0.4915 for visual analysis and 0.0816 for quantitative analysis). A post-study questionnaire suggested a high level of acceptability of the BMSW method; however, the low level of complete data collection indicated significant compliance issues with this methodology.
Conclusions: The lack of correlation and agreement between basal BMSW and digital oral temperature measurements suggests that BST recorded using BMSW cannot be used as an alternative to oral BBT to measure basal temperature. BMSW temperature recordings did not appear to be useful in determining the occurrence of ovulation. However, the low number of complete records and documented ovulatory cycles limited these conclusions. Compliance with overnight BMSW use was poor, further limiting this application.
Objective: We examined the potential use of BMSW to monitor ovulation in young women by measuring basal skin temperature (BST) and comparison with BBT measured using a digital oral thermometer.
Methods: We recruited 16 – 25 year-old women residing in Victoria, Australia, via Facebook advertising, to participate in YFHI health research; 50 respondents (19 oral contraceptive users; 31 oral contraceptive non-users) consented to participate in the present study. Participants were asked to wear the BMSW according to manufacturer’s instructions, upon going to bed each night until rising from bed the following morning, for 1 complete menstrual cycle. Participants also measured their oral temperature with a digital thermometer using a standard protocol each morning before rising or any activity or oral intake, recording results using the mobile phone app WomanLog Pro® or a paper diary. Mean temperatures recorded by BMSW for 10 – 120 minutes before awakening were compared with digital oral temperatures taken immediately on awakening, using Pearson correlations and Bland-Altman (B-A) plots. Visual and quantitative (mean temperature method, Vollman 1997) were used to detect evidence of ovulation. The level of agreement between methods was determined using Kappa statistics.
Results: Due to time limitations, study packages were sent to 24 participants. Of those, 4 completed all study requirements and 11 returned incomplete temperature records. Results of all participants were pooled to compare temperature measurement methods. BMSW temperatures were significantly lower than those recorded using the thermometer (mean [standard deviation]: 34.6 [1.2] versus 36.4 [0.3] C respectively, p < 0.001) and were spread over a much wider range (29.7 – 36.7 versus 35.3 – 37.2 C respectively). Mean BMSW temperatures recorded over intervals ranging 10 – 120 minutes before waking did not correlate with oral temperatures, nor was there significant agreement between methods revealed by B-A plots. There was fair to poor agreement between temperature measurement methods in determination of ovulation (kappa statistic 0.4915 for visual analysis and 0.0816 for quantitative analysis). A post-study questionnaire suggested a high level of acceptability of the BMSW method; however, the low level of complete data collection indicated significant compliance issues with this methodology.
Conclusions: The lack of correlation and agreement between basal BMSW and digital oral temperature measurements suggests that BST recorded using BMSW cannot be used as an alternative to oral BBT to measure basal temperature. BMSW temperature recordings did not appear to be useful in determining the occurrence of ovulation. However, the low number of complete records and documented ovulatory cycles limited these conclusions. Compliance with overnight BMSW use was poor, further limiting this application.
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