The role of wearable transdermal sensors for continuous alcohol monitoring in the treatment of alcohol use disorder (a narrative review)

Timurbulatov I. F.¹

Tetenova E. Yu.¹

Nadezhdin A. V.¹

1Russian Medical Academy of Continuing Professional Education, Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Moscow, Russia

Alexey V. Nadezhdin; e-mail: aminazin@inbox.ru

The study had no sponsorship support.

The authors declare no potential conflict of interest, including financial and non-financial relationships, and no contact with the manufacturers of the devices discussed in this work.

16.04.2026

04.05 2026

Objective. To analyze the role of wearable transdermal sensors for continuous alcohol monitoring (primarily wrist-worn BACtrack Skyn and WrisTAS devices) in the treatment of alcohol use disorder and relapse prevention. Methods. A narrative synthesis of data from randomized controlled trials, cohort and observational studies, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses published between 2006 and 2026. Searches were conducted in PubMed, Semantic Scholar, ScienceDirect, and OpenAlex. After screening 357 full-text articles, 48 of the most relevant sources were selected for final analysis. Results. The most compelling evidence comes from integrating continuous monitoring with contingency management – a system of material reinforcement for verified abstinence. Randomized trials demonstrate odds ratios of 8–9 in favor of contingent reinforcement, an increase in the proportion of abstinent days from 23–31% to 54–85%, and a reduction in standard drinks per week from 40 to 11. The technical accuracy of modern wrist-worn sensors in laboratory settings reaches an area under the ROC curve (AUROC) of 0,97 (sensitivity 89,8%, specificity 90,6%); however, in field settings, sensitivity to individual drinking days decreases to 54–78%. A key advantage of continuous monitoring is the ability to characterize drinking episode dynamics (rate of ascent, area under the curve), which independently predicts alcohol-related consequences. Device acceptability among patients is high (81–96% would use them again), with stigma, skin reactions, and the lack of standardized data interpretation algorithms remaining the main barriers. Conclusion. Wrist-worn transdermal sensors are a promising tool for objectifying alcohol consumption and supporting behavioral interventions for AUD. Transitioning to routine clinical practice requires large multicenter RCTs with observation periods of at least 48 weeks, the development of automated analytical pipelines, and cost-effectiveness analyses.

alcohol use disorder, continuous alcohol monitoring, transdermal alcohol concentration, wearable sensors, BACtrack Skyn, contingency management, relapse prevention, objective alcohol consumption assessment

10.29234/2308-9113-2026-14-2-73-94

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