Heart rate variability and occupational stress—systematic review

Abstract

The aim of this systematic review was to explore studies regarding association between occupational stress and heart rate variability (HRV) during work. We searched PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Cinahl and PsycINFO for peer-reviewed articles published in English between January 2005 and September 2017. A total of 10 articles met the inclusion criteria. The included articles were analyzed in terms of study design, study population, assessment of occupational stress and HRV, and the study limitations. Among the studies there were cross-sectional (n=9) studies and one longitudinal study design. Sample size varied from 19 to 653 participants and both females and males were included. The most common assessment methods of occupational stress were the Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ) and the Effort-Reward Imbalance (ERI) questionnaire. HRV was assessed using 24 h or longer Holter ECG or HR monitoring and analyzed mostly using standard time-domain and frequency-domain parameters. The main finding was that heightened occupational stress was found associated with lowered HRV, specifically with reduced parasympathetic activation. Reduced parasympathetic activation was seen as decreases in RMSSD and HF power, and increase in LF/HF ratio. The assessment and analysis methods of occupational stress and HRV were diverse.

Does Cardiorespiratory Fitness Buffer Stress Reactivity and Stress Recovery in Police Officers? A Real-Life Study

“…Interestingly, chronic work stress measured via the JDC ratio, and acute work stress, were not related to night HRV. These results are partly in line with the findings of two reviews (27,75). Loerbroks et al (75) found significant age-related partial correlations with ERI and HRV, but not JDC in the age group of 35 to 44 years.…”

“…Loerbroks et al (75) found significant age-related partial correlations with ERI and HRV, but not JDC in the age group of 35 to 44 years. The review of Järvelin-Pasanen et al (27) contained five studies assessing RMSSD. Of these studies, two studies unanimously reported lower RMSSD levels in stressed individuals.…”

“…The existing literature on real-life stress is often based on cross-sectional designs, with single work stress scores or aggregated HRV-values, respectively. Järvelin-Pasanen et al (27) explicitly highlighted the lack of longitudinal studies. However, studies with longitudinal designs are important for at least two reasons: First, single chronic stress scores or aggregated mean levels in outcomes might show different associations than multiple acute stress perceptions/responses (36).…”

Heart rate variability as a measure of mental stress in surgery: a systematic review

“…Although short-duration measurements can inform us of the level of mental stress during the time frame or situation of interest, measurements of longer duration provide us with vital information on the recovery of stress. Long-term measurements (24 h or more), as opposed to short-term HRV monitoring, enable assessing stress and recovery patterns Table 6 Overview of HRV parameters, artefact corrections and other information in the included studies during normal working hours as well as during leisure time and during sleep (Jarvelin-Pasanen et al 2018). Only four of the included studies performed long-term measurements and investigated the long-term effects and recovery of mental stress.…”

Herzfrequenzvariabilitätsanalyse in der betriebsärztlichen Praxis

“…Ferner ist die HRV bei Arbeitsnehmer in Schichtarbeit zusätzlich reduziert [22] und lässt sich darüber hinaus zur Einschätzung des Burnout-Risikos und Arbeitsstresses [40] nutzen. Auch in diesen Fällen liegt eine reduzierte HRV vor.…”