Premium
Cardiodynamic Associations With Mental Health And Resilience In Undergraduate Students
Author(s) -
Knetsch Rachel,
Klassen Stephen A.,
Shoemaker J. Kevin
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.2018.32.1_supplement.890.1
Subject(s) - heart rate variability , anxiety , mental health , autonomic nervous system , clinical psychology , psychological resilience , psychology , medicine , heart rate , blood pressure , psychiatry , psychotherapist
The 2016 National College Health Assessment (NCHA) indicates a majority of Canadian students reported feeling overwhelmed, stressed, and anxious during their undergraduate studies, which lead to poorer academic performance. Heart rate variability (HRV), the variation in time between consecutive heart beats, is indicative of the inherent flexibility of a healthy autonomic nervous system. While autonomic indices, in the form of HRV, have been used to describe chronic physiological stress, the role of HRV as a physiological index of mental health remains unclear. Furthermore, HRV monitoring may provide a quantitative means for interpreting the gradation of stress and anxiety experienced by undergraduate students. The objective of this study was to analyze the relationship between cardiac autonomic control and mental health scores in undergraduate students. Seventy‐seven healthy undergraduate students (18–24 years of age, 17 males; Western University, Canada) wore a Firstbeat Bodyguard® device for a 24‐hour period while continuing with day‐to‐day activities. Sleep R‐R interval data were isolated, and the root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD; Firstbeat® software) was calculated. Students also completed the brief resilience scale (BRS), generalized anxiety disorder 7‐item scale (GAD‐7), and the mental health inventory (MHI) questionnaires. Regression analysis established the predictive relationship between RMSSD and the psychological survey scores for this sample. The RMSSD index correlated positively with BRS (r=0.30, p<0.01). The RMSSD index correlated negatively with GAD‐7 scores (r=−0.27, p<0.05). The RMSSD index did not correlate with MHI scores. These data suggest that higher HRV may indicate greater psychological resilience, and lower anxiety amongst undergraduate students. Support or Funding Information Western University Interdisciplinary Initiative Program This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal .