Can anxiety among traffic policemen affect their heart rate variability?

Heart Rate Variability (HRV) provides non invasive, unobtrusive information about modulation of heart rate by Autonomic Nervous System (ANS). HRV is commonly described by standard deviation of intervals between successive R waves (SDNN) of cardiac cycle. Reduced HRV is indicated by reduced SDNN. Work stress is a common entity in the present day world and a job involving the manning of a traffic signal is one such stressful jobs. ANS is involved in the physiological expression of anxiety and stress. HRV analysis can be used as a tool to analyze the sympathovagal imbalance that might be precipitated due to anxiety. The aim of the study was to estimate HRV in traffic policemen and to study the association between their anxiety scores and HRV. HRV of all participants was recorded for 5 min in supine position in a quiet room. Speilberger’s State Trait Anxiety Inventory questionnaire with scores ranging from 20 to 80 was given to subjects. Anxiety scores were correlated with SDNN using Pearson’s correlation coefficient. There was a negative correlation between SDNN and anxiety level in traffic policemen (r= -0.729, p<0.01). Reduced HRV was seen in subjects with high anxiety score indicating sympathetic dominance.