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Health and Quality of Life Outcomes
Published in: Health and Quality of Life Outcomes 1/2016

Open Access 01-12-2016 | Research

Correlation between health-related quality of life in the physical domain and heart rate variability in asymptomatic adults

Authors: Wan-Chun Lu, Nian-Sheng Tzeng, Yu-Chen Kao, Chin-Bin Yeh, Terry B. J. Kuo, Chuan-Chia Chang, Hsin-An Chang

Published in: Health and Quality of Life Outcomes | Issue 1/2016

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Abstract

Background

Reduced health-related quality of life in the physical domain (HRQOLphysical) has been reported to increase risks for cardiovascular disease (CVD); however, the mechanism underlying this phenomenon is still unclear. The autonomic nervous system (ANS) that connects the body and mind is a biologically plausible candidate to investigate this mechanism. The aim of our study is to examine whether the HRQOLphysical independently contributes to heart rate variability (HRV), which reflects ANS activity.

Methods

We recruited 329 physically and mentally healthy adults. All participants completed Beck Anxiety Inventory, Beck Depression Inventory and World Health Organization Questionnaire on Quality of Life: Short Form-Taiwanese version (WHOQOL-BREF). They were divided into groups of individuals having high or low scores of HRQOLphysical as discriminated by the quartile value of WHOQOL-BREF. We obtained the time and frequency-domain indices of HRV, namely variance (total HRV), the low-frequency power (LF; 0.05–0.15 Hz), which may reflect baroreflex function, the high-frequency power (HF; 0.15–0.40 Hz), which reflects cardiac parasympathetic activity, and the LF/HF ratio.

Results

There was an independent contribution of HRQOLphysical to explaining the variance in HRV after excluding potential confounding factors (gender, age, physical activity, alcohol use, depression and anxiety). Compared with the participants with high levels of HRQOLphysical, those with low levels of HRQOLphysical displayed significant reductions in variance and LF.

Conclusions

This study highlights the independent role of low HRQOLphysical in contributing to the reduced HRV in healthy adults and points to a potential underlying mechanism for HRQOLphysical to confer increased risks for CVD.
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Metadata
Title
Correlation between health-related quality of life in the physical domain and heart rate variability in asymptomatic adults
Authors
Wan-Chun Lu
Nian-Sheng Tzeng
Yu-Chen Kao
Chin-Bin Yeh
Terry B. J. Kuo
Chuan-Chia Chang
Hsin-An Chang
Publication date
01-12-2016
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
Health and Quality of Life Outcomes / Issue 1/2016
Electronic ISSN: 1477-7525
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12955-016-0555-y

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