Healthc Inform Res.  2021 Jul;27(3):249-254. 10.4258/hir.2021.27.3.249.

Heart Rate Variability as an Early Objective Indicator of Subjective Feeling of Depression in Daily Life

• Jo HG
• Shin N

• KMID: 2519041
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4258/hir.2021.27.3.249

Abstract

Objectives
Changes in the autonomic nervous system have been observed in patients with depressive disorders by measuring their heart rate variability (HRV). However, whether HRV associates with depressive events in healthy people remains unknown.
Methods
Four healthy people participated in the present study. Their HRVs were measured routinely for 6 to 13 months. During this time, two participants reported experiencing two and three bouts of depression, respectively. This approach allowed us to examine changes in the participants’ HRVs by comparing their HRVs from before and after the unexpected depressive events. Changes in HRV were compared against those of two participants who did not report any depressive event.
Results
Participants’ low frequency/high frequency (LF/HF) ratios of HRV were lower after the event of depression than before. Their LF/HF ratios increased after recovery from the depressive events. In contrast, two participants who did not report any depressive event showed relatively smaller changes in their LF/HF ratios across measurements.
Conclusions
These results suggest that the LF/HF ratio may provide an objective measure of subjective experiences of depression and help identify potential cases of clinical depression.

Keyword

Depression, Autonomic Nervous System, Electrocardiogram, Heart Rate, Individuality

Figure

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  Figure 1 in the LF/HF ratio in four participants: (A) P1, (B) P2, (C) P3, (D) P4. Black dots indicate when the participants reported having experienced depression. LF: low frequency power, HF: high frequency power.

Reference

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