Previously submitted to: Journal of Medical Internet Research (no longer under consideration since Sep 03, 2024)
Date Submitted: Apr 15, 2023
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
An evaluation of the BACtrack Skyn® wrist-worn transdermal alcohol monitor as a continuous measure of blood alcohol content (BAC) during naturalistic drinking
ABSTRACT
Background:
Research in the field of alcohol consumption relies on accurate measurement of alcohol intake. Transdermal alcohol monitors have recently emerged as a promising tool for measuring alcohol consumption in a valid and continuous way that addresses many of the limitations of other methods of blood alcohol concentration (BAC) measurement.
Objective:
This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of the BACtrack Skyn® transdermal sensor in measuring BAC during a drinking episode.
Methods:
41 participants (mean age 29.68 years) were given free access to alcohol whereby, participants self-selected their beverage, and frequency and quantity of intake (to a maximum of 1.3 g/kg body weight) over the course of four hours. Blood, breath and urine samples were collected at five timepoints throughout the night (i.e., hourly) and BACtrack Skyn transdermal sensors were worn by participants for the duration of the evening.
Results:
Transdermal alcohol content (TAC) measurement recorded by the Skyn device positively correlated with breath (r(41) = .84, 95%CI = .71 to .91, p < .001), blood (r(29) = .86, 95%CI = .75 to .94, p < .001), and urine (r(41) = .86, 95%CI = .75 to .92, p < .001) alcohol concentration. The Skyn device exhibited an average latency of 58 minutes between alcohol intake and detection and a failure rate of 65.9%.
Conclusions:
Findings from this study indicate that Skyn devices hold promise for accurately measuring alcohol consumption, allowing for accurate, passive, and continuous alcohol intake over time. This may be particularly beneficial for researchers assessing real-world drinking, individuals seeking to manage their drinking, and healthcare professions providing personalised treatment for problematic drinking. However, the use of transdermal devices is currently challenged by several factors, including individual variability, device malfunction and difficulties with translating TAC into BAC data. Future research is needed to address these limitations. Clinical Trial: CTRN12621000818831
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