[Effect of psychotherapy on autonomic balance in VDT-operators with somatoform disorders]

The omnipresence of stress-inducing factors that stems from the permanent development of our civilization results in a constantly growing number of people with neurotic disorders. Computer technology, a very new labor technique, has become a stressful factor. Stressful factors initially affect the central nervous system, which modifies vegetative functions. The autonomic balance can be a measurable indicator of disease severity.

The study group consisted of 50 VDT-operators with neurotic disorders. Twenty five healthy VDT-operators formed the control group. The autonomic balance was investigated with Holter monitoring. Each of the 50 neurotic VDT-operators were qualified for a 3-month psychotherapy.

The analysis of Holter recordings proved that the applied model of psychotherapy significantly reduced the number of sympathicotonics in favor of normotonics in the study group (p < 0.01).

The Holter analysis can be considered as a reliable indicator of the effect of psychotherapy.