Digital phenotyping enables real-time mental health monitoring and risk prediction in people with diabetesDigital Tools May Help Track Mental Health in People with Diabetes

Diabetes frequently co-occurs with depression, anxiety, and diabetes-related distress, and psychological status directly influences glycaemic control and the risk of complications. Traditional mental health assessment relies on subjective scales. With the growth of digital health, digital phenotyping offers a new paradigm for real-time, objective mental health monitoring and prediction. However, the pathways through which these technologies perform monitoring and prediction remain unclear. This scoping review aimed to systematically map the application pathways of digital phenotyping for mental health monitoring and prediction in people with diabetes, and to use machine learning-assisted text mining to analyse the main research themes and hotspots, thereby informing the future development of individualised risk prediction models and monitoring systems. A scoping review search was conducted in six English databases (PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, Web of Science, Scopus, and the Cochrane Library) and four Chinese databases (CNKI, Wanfang, VIP, and China Biomedical Literature Database[CBM]), covering studies published from database inception to 10 September 2026. The search strategy was built around terms related to diabetes, digital phenotyping, and mental health. Machine learning-assisted literature mining was used to identify thematic patterns in the included studies. The study selection process and overall workflow followed the PRISMA extension for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR). A total of 2,968 records were retrieved. After screening, 10 studies were included. The evidence indicated that digital phenotyping mainly enables real-time monitoring of mental health in people with diabetes through signals such as continuous glucose monitoring (CGM), passive smartphone sensing, voice, and ecological momentary assessment (EMA). Machine learning methods were widely used for risk prediction modelling, but most studies built models at the group level, with only a few adopting n-of-1 analysis or subgroup prediction to achieve individualised risk prediction. External validation of models was generally lacking, and no intervention studies were identified. Preliminary evidence suggests that digital phenotyping has exploratory potential for mental health monitoring and prediction in people with diabetes, but research that genuinely achieves individualised risk prediction remains limited. Closed-loop monitoring-intervention design and multicentre external validation are the main directions for future research.