Identification of a High-Risk Group of New-Onset Cardiovascular Disease in Occupational Drivers by Analyzing Heart Rate Variability

Ying-Chuan Wang, Chung-Ching Wang, Ya-Hsin Yao and Wei-Te Wu
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Ying-Chuan Wang: Division of Family Medicine, Department of Family and Community Medicine, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei 114, Taiwan
Chung-Ching Wang: Division of Family Medicine, Department of Family and Community Medicine, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei 114, Taiwan
Ya-Hsin Yao: School of Medicine, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei 114, Taiwan
Wei-Te Wu: National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli 350, Taiwan

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 21, 1-13

Abstract: Purpose: This cohort study evaluated the effectiveness of noninvasive heart rate variability (HRV) analysis to assess the risk of cardiovascular disease over a period of 8 years. Methods: Personal and working characteristics were collected before biochemistry examinations and 5 min HRV tests from the Taiwan Bus Driver Cohort Study (TBDCS) in 2005. This study eventually identified 161 drivers with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and 627 without between 2005 and 2012. Estimation of the hazard ratio was analyzed by using the Cox proportional-hazards model. Results: Subjects with CVD had an overall lower standard deviation of NN intervals (SDNN) than their counterparts did. The SDNN index had a strong association with CVD, even after adjusting for risk factors. Using a median split for SDNN, the hazard ratio of CVD was 1.83 (95% CI = 1.10–3.04) in Model 1 and 1.87 (95% CI = 1.11–3.13) in Model 2. Furthermore, the low-frequency (LF) index was associated with a risk of CVD in the continuous approach. For hypertensive disease, the SDNN index was associated with increased risks in both the continuous and dichotomized approaches. When the root-mean-square of the successive differences (RMSSDs), high frequency (HF), and LF were continuous variables, significant associations with hypertensive disease were observed. Conclusions: This cohort study suggests that SDNN and LF levels are useful for predicting 8 year CVD risk, especially for hypertensive disease. Further research is required to determine preventive measures for modifying HRV dysfunction, as well as to investigate whether these interventions could decrease CVD risk among professional drivers.

Keywords: early monitoring; heart rate variability; cardiovascular diseases; professional bus driver; cohort study (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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