Abstract
BackgroundIn the elderly population, analysis of the circadian rhythms of social activity may help in supervising homebound disabled and chronically ill populations. Circadian rhythms are monitored over time to determine, for example, the stability of the organization of daily social activity rhythms and the occurrence of particular desynchronizations in the way older adults act and react socially during the day. Recently, analysis of telephone call detail records has led to the possibility of determining circadian rhythms of social activity in an objective unobtrusive way for young patients from their outgoing telephone calls. At this stage, however, the analysis of incoming call rhythms and the comparison of their organization with respect to outgoing calls remains to be performed in underinvestigated populations (in particular, older populations).ObjectiveThis study investigated the persistence and synchronization of circadian rhythms in telephone communication by older adults.MethodsThe study used a longitudinal 12-month data set combining call detail records and questionnaire data from 26 volunteers aged 70 years or more to determine the existence of persistent and synchronized circadian rhythms in their telephone communications. The study worked with the following four specific telecommunication parameters: (1) recipient of the telephone call (alter), (2) time at which the call began, (3) duration of the call, and (4) direction of the call. We focused on the following two issues: (1) the existence of persistent circadian rhythms of outgoing and incoming telephone calls in the older population and (2) synchronization with circadian rhythms in the way the older population places and responds to telephone calls.ResultsThe results showed that older adults have their own specific circadian rhythms for placing telephone calls and receiving telephone calls. These rhythms are partly structured by the way in which older adults allocate their communication time over the day. In addition, despite minor differences between circadian rhythms for outgoing and incoming calls, our analysis suggests the two rhythms could be synchronized.ConclusionsThese results suggest the existence of potential persistent and synchronized circadian rhythms in the outgoing and incoming telephone activities of older adults.
Highlights
BackgroundThe lives of humans are deeply structured on a daily basis, which both reflects and contributes to the emergence of regular rhythms of activity, the so-called circadian rhythms [1]
The evening activity peak was noticeably higher than that for outgoing telephone calls. These results suggest that the daily rhythm of telephone calls in older adults corresponds with circadian rhythm framing
Having far seen evidence that persistent daily rhythms exist in outgoing and incoming telephone calls and that these rhythms may correspond to circadian rhythm framing, we investigated any possible synchronization between these two daily rhythms
Summary
BackgroundThe lives of humans are deeply structured on a daily basis, which both reflects and contributes to the emergence of regular rhythms of activity, the so-called circadian (ie, 24 hours) rhythms [1]. At the exogenous level, these biological time posts are entangled with physical and social cues [3], such as the day-night alternation [4] and the daily social interactions [5] that occur between individuals and their social network These external “time givers,” known under the German word “Zeitgeberen,” permit individuals to adapt themselves to their physical and social environments by aligning their daily activities to a precise and persistent 24-hour clock [4]. Analysis of telephone call detail records has led to the possibility of determining circadian rhythms of social activity in an objective unobtrusive way for young patients from their outgoing telephone calls At this stage, the analysis of incoming call rhythms and the comparison of their organization with respect to outgoing calls remains to be performed in underinvestigated populations (in particular, older populations). Conclusions: These results suggest the existence of potential persistent and synchronized circadian rhythms in the outgoing and incoming telephone activities of older adults
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