Wearable Sweat Biosensors for Inflammatory Biomarkers (CRP, IL-6 and TNF-α): A Systematic Review of Analytical and Clinical Evidence.
Biosensors (Basel)Sep 18, 2026 (epub)
Raghad S Alsharidah, Razique Anwer, Maysoon Anwar Abdelhamid et al.
✦ AI-curated · Sources linked
In 30 seconds
This systematic review evaluated the use of wearable sweat biosensors for monitoring inflammatory biomarkers (CRP, IL-6, TNF-α) in human studies. The review included 13 studies and found that CRP had the highest sweat-serum agreement (r = 0.844) and good diagnostic performance in inflammatory bowel disease (AUC = 0.845).
Key findings
- CRP showed the most consistent sweat-serum agreement with a correlation of r = 0.844.
- TNF-α demonstrated the highest diagnostic accuracy in a longitudinal study with an AUC of 0.962.
- IL-6 exhibited moderate sweat-serum correlations (R² = 0.60-0.72) but limited diagnostic discrimination.
- Most studies included had moderate methodological quality.
Why it matters
The ability to non-invasively monitor inflammatory biomarkers through sweat could enhance patient management in inflammatory diseases, reducing the need for blood sampling and improving patient comfort.
What to keep in mind
Most studies had moderate methodological quality and were small and heterogeneous.