Correlation between sweat and blood biomarkers for physiological monitoring in humans: a scoping review

Abstract

Continuous, real-time health monitoring has driven growing interest in non-invasive biochemical strategies, highlighting human sweat as a promising biofluid due to its rich biomarker composition. Despite advances in the development of sweat-based wearable sensors, the lack of clinically validated standards and inconsistencies in the correlations between sweat and blood analytes—considered the gold standard in clinical practice—still limit their widespread application. These discrepancies arise from physiological and methodological factors, including secretion mechanisms, sweat rates, induction and collection methods, and skin contamination. This review critically compiles and analyzes the available evidence on the relationship between sweat and blood biomarkers, identifying existing gaps, methodological limitations, and future perspectives, and emphasizing the need for approaches grounded in the physiology of sweat glands to advance non-invasive physiological monitoring.