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Determinants of heart rate variability in the general population: The Lifelines Cohort Study
Balewgizie Sileshi Tegegne1, Tengfei Man1, Arie M van Roon2
1Department of Epidemiology, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
Insights
Heart rate variability (HRV) is a key indicator of heart health. Age and sex significantly influence HRV, explaining nearly 20% of differences, while lifestyle and psychosocial factors have minimal impact.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Public Health
- Psychophysiology
Background:
- Heart rate variability (HRV) serves as a crucial indicator of cardiovascular health.
- Lower HRV values are associated with diminished vagal control over heart rhythm.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine how demographic, lifestyle, and psychosocial factors influence individual variations in HRV within the general population.
- To assess the predictive power of these factors on HRV.
Main Methods:
- Utilized 10-second electrocardiogram data from the Lifelines Cohort Study (n=149,205).
- Calculated root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD) and heart rate-adjusted RMSSD (cRMSSD) as measures of parasympathetic activity.
- Employed hierarchical linear regression, controlling for medication, disease, and BMI.
Main Results:
- HRV significantly decreased with age and was higher in women, with demographics explaining 17.4%-21.9% of variance.
- Physical activity, alcohol, and smoking showed minor associations with HRV.
- Lifestyle and psychosocial factors collectively explained less than 0.5% of the variance.
Conclusions:
- Age and sex are the primary determinants of HRV in the general population, accounting for a substantial portion of individual differences.
- Lifestyle and psychosocial factors contribute negligibly to HRV variations in this cohort.
Background:
Heart rate variability (HRV) is an important marker of heart health, with low values reflecting reduced vagal control of the heart rhythm.
Objective:
The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which a broad range of demographic (age, sex), lifestyle (physical activity, smoking, alcohol use), and psychosocial factors (stress, social well-being, neuroticism) explain individual differences in HRV in the general population.
Methods:
Using baseline data of 10-second electrocardiograms from the Lifelines Cohort Study (n = 149,205; 58.7% female; mean age ± SD: 44.6 ± 13.2 years), we calculated the root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD) between adjacent interbeat intervals as an index of cardiac parasympathetic nervous system activity. We also calculated RMSSD adjusted for its dependency on heart rate (cRMSSD). The association of demographic, lifestyle, and psychosocial factors with RMSSD was assessed using hierarchical linear regression models adjusting for potential confounding effects of medication use, disease, and body mass index.
Results:
HRV strongly declined with age and was consistently higher in women. These demographic factors together explained 17.4% of the variance in RMSSD and 21.9% in cRMSSD. Physical activity, alcohol use, and smoking showed some significant associations with RMSSD, but stress, social well-being, and neuroticism did not. Adding lifestyle and psychosocial factors to the model additionally explained <0.50% of the variance.
Conclusion:
Age and sex were the most important determinants in this very large general population cohort, explaining almost one-fifth of the individual differences in HRV. The additional contribution of lifestyle and psychosocial factors was negligible.
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