ArticleInternational journal of bipolar disorders2020
Digital health developments and drawbacks: a review and analysis of top-returned apps for bipolar disorder.
Article in International journal of bipolar disorders, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 30 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
30 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Ecological momentary interventions for bipolar disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2026Pooled it
- A systematic review of features and content quality of Arabic mental mHealth apps.Frontiers in digital health · 2024Pooled it
- Examining the role of AI technology in online mental healthcare: opportunities, challenges, and implications, a mixed-methods review.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Pooled it
- Smartphone-based interventions in bipolar disorder: Systematic review and meta-analyses of efficacy. A position paper from the International Society for Bipolar Disorders (ISBD) Big Data Task Force.Bipolar disorders · 2022Pooled it
- Effects of a Smartphone-Based Self-management Intervention for Individuals With Bipolar Disorder on Relapse, Symptom Burden, and Quality of Life: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA psychiatry · 2023Trial
- Digital mental health tools for use by individuals in opioid use recovery: An academic scoping and commercial review.PLOS digital health · 2026Article
- Empowering Quality of Life Monitoring and Self-Management in Bipolar Disorder: Pilot Evaluation of the PolarUs App.Bipolar disorders · 2026Article
- Cultural Adaptation of a Digital Mobile App for Bipolar Disorder (PolarUs): Protocol for a Qualitative Co-Design Study.JMIR research protocols · 2026Article
- What influences engagement with a bipolar disorder self-management app? A qualitative investigation of use of the PolarUs app.PLOS digital health · 2025Article
- [Scoping review on the identification and evaluation of available digital applications for bipolar disorder].Der Nervenarzt · 2025Article
- A Brief Video-Based Intervention to Improve Digital Health Literacy for Individuals With Bipolar Disorder: Intervention Development and Results of a Single-Arm Quantitative Pilot Study.Journal of participatory medicine · 2025Article
- Digital health literacy among people with bipolar disorder in Germany - a cross-sectional survey.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- Digital Tools to Facilitate the Detection and Treatment of Bipolar Disorder: Key Developments and Future Directions.JMIR mental health · 2024Article
- KIOS: A smartphone app for self-monitoring for patients with bipolar disorder.Bipolar disorders · 2024Article
- Digital Therapeutics for Improving Effectiveness of Pharmaceutical Drugs and Biological Products: Preclinical and Clinical Studies Supporting Development of Drug + Digital Combination Therapies for Chronic Diseases.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Review
- Classifying and clustering mood disorder patients using smartphone data from a feasibility study.NPJ digital medicine · 2023Article
- Smartphone Apps for Smoking Cessation: Systematic Framework for App Review and Analysis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2023Review
- The Minimum Feature Set for Designing Mobile Apps to Support Bipolar Disorder-Affected Patients: Proposal of Essential Functions and Requirements.Journal of healthcare informatics research · 2023Article
- Exploring how informed mental health app selection may impact user engagement and satisfaction.PLOS digital health · 2023Article
- The clinical characterization of the adult patient with bipolar disorder aimed at personalization of management.World psychiatry : official journal of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA) · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAlthough a growing body of literature highlights the potential benefit of smartphone-based mobile apps to aid in self-management and treatment of bipolar disorder, it is unclear whether such evidence-based apps are readily available and accessible to a user of the app store.
resultsUsing our systematic framework for the evaluation of mental health apps, we analyzed the accessibility, privacy, clinical foundation, features, and interoperability of the top-returned 100 apps for bipolar disorder. Only 56% of the apps mentioned bipolar disorder specifically in their title, description, or content. Only one app's efficacy was supported in a peer-reviewed study, and 32 apps lacked privacy policies. The most common features provided were mood tracking, journaling, and psychoeducation.
conclusionsOur analysis reveals substantial limitations in the current digital environment for individuals seeking an evidence-based, clinically usable app for bipolar disorder. Although there have been academic advances in development of digital interventions for bipolar disorder, this work has yet to be translated to the publicly available app marketplace. This unmet need of digital mood management underscores the need for a comprehensive evaluation system of mental health apps, which we have endeavored to provide through our framework and accompanying database (apps.digitalpsych.org).
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.