AcceXible Speech-Based Screening for Depression and Anxiety in University Students (BUAP, Mexico)

Accexible785 enrolled

Overview

Major depressive disorder (MDD) and anxiety are increasingly prevalent among university student populations, yet early detection remains reliant on psychometric instruments tied to diagnostic criteria (e.g., PHQ-9, GAD). Emerging evidence suggests that depression affects both the acoustic properties and content of speech, making speech analysis a promising candidate as a digital biomarker for early screening. This study evaluates the validity of acceXible, a speech-based machine learning platform, for the detection and monitoring of depression and anxiety in the student population of the Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (BUAP), Mexico. AcceXible captures spontaneous speech through open-ended interview tasks and applies automated acoustic and linguistic analysis. The primary objective is to evaluate the validity of the acceXible spontaneous speech analysis system for depression and anxiety screening, assessed against the PHQ and GAD scales as reference standards. Secondary objectives include examining associations between speech-derived variables and other study measures, evaluating participant engagement with digital mental health resources, assessing user satisfaction with the platform, and analyzing longitudinal changes in scores across follow-up assessments.

Study Type

OBSERVATIONAL

Enrollment

785

Conditions

Depression - Major Depressive Disorder Anxiety

Interventions

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 16 YearsMax age: 25 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * Provision of voluntary written informed consent * Age 16-25 years * Current enrollment at BUAP * Spanish language proficiency * Access to a mobile device with internet connectivity * Ability to understand and follow basic acceXible usage instructions Exclusion Criteria: * Refusal to participate * Psychomotor agitation * Sensory impairment (visual or auditory) * Cognitive impairment

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Diagnostic accuracy of acceXible for depression and anxiety screening

Sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value of the acceXible speech analysis system relative to validated Spanish-language versions of the PHQ-9 and GAD-7 as reference standards. Sensitivity is defined as the probability of correctly classifying a participant with abnormal scores; specificity as the probability of correctly classifying a non-affected participant; and positive predictive value as the probability that a participant flagged by acceXible truly meets criteria for depression or anxiety.

Time frame: Baseline