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Short-Term Heart Rate Variability in a Population-Based Sample of 10-Year-Old Children

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Abstract

Heart rate variability (HRV) is a non-invasive quantitative marker of cardiac autonomic function derived from continuous electrocardiogram (ECG) recordings. Normative HRV values and development factors have not been established in pediatric populations. The objective was to derive referent time- and frequency-domain HRV values for a population-based sample of children. Children aged 9–11 years (N = 1,036) participated in the Québec Longitudinal Study of Child Development cohort cardiovascular health screening. Registered nurses measured anthropometrics (height, weight) and children wore an ambulatory Holter monitor to continuously record an ECG signal. HRV variables included time (SDNN, pNN50, RMSSD, SDANN) and frequency (HF, LF, LF/HF ratio) domain variables. Normative HRV values, stratified by age, sex, and heart rate, are presented. Greater heart rate (β avg  = −0.60, R 2avg  = 0.39), pubertal maturation (β avg = −0.11, R 2avg  = 0.01), later ECG recording times (β avg = −0.19, R 2avg  = 0.07), and higher diastolic blood pressure (β avg = −0.11, R 2avg  = 0.01) were significantly associated with reduced HRV in 10-year-old children. The normative HRV values permit clinicians to monitor, describe, and establish pediatric nosologies in primary care and research settings, which may improve treatment of diseases associated with HRV in children. By better understanding existing values, the practical applicability of HRV among clinicians will be enhanced. Lastly, developmental (e.g., puberty) and procedural (e.g., recording time) factors were identified that will improve recording procedures and interpretation of results.

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Abbreviations

HRV:

Heart rate variability

SBP:

Systolic blood pressure

DBP:

Diastolic blood pressure

SDNN:

Standard deviation of all normal sinus RR intervals

SDANN:

Standard deviation of the averaged normal sinus RR intervals for all 5-min epochs

SDNNi:

Mean of the standard deviations of all normal sinus RR intervals for all 5-min epochs

rMSSD:

Root mean square of the successive normal sinus RR interval difference

pNN50:

Percentage of successive normal sinus RR intervals <50 ms

VLF:

Very low frequency

LF:

Low frequency

HF:

High frequency

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Acknowledgments

The authors extend their sincere thanks to Drs. Marie Lambert (posthumous) and Blaine Ditto for their invaluable contributions at the inception of this project. The principal financial contributors of the 1996-2014 ELDEQ cohort were Institut de la statistique du Québec and their partners: Fondation Lucie et André Chagnon, Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux du Québec, Ministère de la Famille du Québec, Research Unit on Childhood Psychosocial Maladjustment, Centre hospitalier universitaire Sainte-Justine, and Institut de recherche Robert-Sauvé en santé et en sécurité du travail. The cardiovascular screening assessment of the ELDEQ cohort was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (# 00309MOP-123079, #HDF-70335). Institut de recherché en santé publique de l’Université de Montréal, Centre hospitalier universitaire Sainte-Justine, and Centre de recherche du Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal received infrastructure funding from Fonds de la recherche en santé du Québec. This research was in part conducted by members of TEAM PRODIGY, an inter-university research team including Université de Montréal, Concordia University, Université Laval, McGill University, and University of Toronto.

Conflict of interest

Dr. Jennifer McGrath reports grants (#OCO-79897, #MOP-89886) and a New Investigator Award (#MSH95353) from Canadian Institutes of Health Research that supported this research. Dr. Jacques Montplaisir reports personal fees from Sanofi-Aventis, Servier, Merck, Jazz Pharm, Valeant Pharm, Impax Laboratories, Otsuka Pharm, and grants from Merck and GSK, outside the submitted work. Dr. Jean R. Séguin reports grants from Canadian Institutes of Health Research (Grants #MOP-44072) and Fonds de recherche en santé du Québec (#991027, #981055). All remaining authors have nothing to disclose.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. École de psychologie, Université Laval, Centre d’étude des troubles du sommeil, Centre de recherche de l’Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Québec, Pavillon Félix-Antoine Savard, 2325, rue des Bibliothèques, Québec, QC, G1V 0A6, Canada

    Denise C. Jarrin

  2. Pediatric Public Health Psychology Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Concordia University, 7141 Sherbrooke St. West, Montréal, QC, H4B 1R6, Canada

    Jennifer J. McGrath

  3. Faculté de pharmacie, Institut universitaire de cardiologie et de pneumologie de Québec, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada

    Paul Poirier

  4. Département de médecine sociale et préventive, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada

    Louise Séguin

  5. Departments of Psychology and Pediatrics, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada

    Richard E. Tremblay

  6. School of Public Health and Population Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

    Richard E. Tremblay

  7. L’Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale (INSERM) U669, Paris, France

    Richard E. Tremblay

  8. Centre de Recherche du CHU Ste-Justine, Montréal, QC, Canada

    Richard E. Tremblay & Jean R. Séguin

  9. Department of Psychiatry, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada

    Jacques Y. Montplaisir & Jean R. Séguin

  10. Centre d’études avancé de médicine du sommeil, Hopital du Sacré Coeur, Montréal, QC, Canada

    Jacques Y. Montplaisir

  11. Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada

    Gilles Paradis

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  1. Denise C. Jarrin
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  2. Jennifer J. McGrath
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  3. Paul Poirier
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  4. Louise Séguin
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  5. Richard E. Tremblay
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  6. Jacques Y. Montplaisir
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  7. Gilles Paradis
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  8. Jean R. Séguin
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Correspondence to Jennifer J. McGrath.

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Jarrin, D.C., McGrath, J.J., Poirier, P. et al. Short-Term Heart Rate Variability in a Population-Based Sample of 10-Year-Old Children. Pediatr Cardiol 36, 41–48 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00246-014-0962-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00246-014-0962-y

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