Evidence mapPaperPMID 37541968Full record

SynthesisClinical autonomic research : official journal of the Clinical Autonomic Research Society2023

Day and night heart rate variability using 24-h ECG recordings: a systematic review with meta-analysis using a gender lens.

Beatrice De Maria, Monica Parati, Laura Adelaide Dalla Vecchia, Maria Teresa La Rovere

Abstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Clinical autonomic research : official journal of the Clinical Autonomic Research Society, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Guideline
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Review
  5. Decreased Heart Rate Variability Is Associated with Increased Fatigue Across Different Medical Populations: A Systematic Review.Pathophysiology : the official journal of the International Society for Pathophysiology · 2025
    Review
  6. Article
  7. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Beatrice De Maria *Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri IRCCS, Via Camaldoli 64, 20138, Milano, Italy.ORCID 0000-0001-5360-3137
Monica Parati *Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri IRCCS, Via Camaldoli 64, 20138, Milano, Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-7836-7246
Laura Adelaide Dalla VecchiaIstituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri IRCCS, Via Camaldoli 64, 20138, Milano, Italy. laura.dallavecchia@icsmaugeri.it.ORCID 0000-0002-6516-0959
Maria Teresa La RovereIstituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri IRCCS, Montescano, Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-1884-5058

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeIncreasing evidence demonstrates that gender-related factors, and not only biological sex, are relevant in the physiological and pathophysiological mechanisms of the cardiovascular system, including the cardiac autonomic regulation. Sex and gender may also affect daytime and night-time cardiac autonomic control. This meta-analysis aimed to provide a comparison between healthy women and men on heart rate variability using 24-h ECG recordings pointing out sex- and gender-related factors.

methodsA systematic search was conducted to include studies focusing on both sex and gender differences related to heart rate variability indices in the time and frequency domains. Descriptive data were extracted by two independent reviewers. For each index, standardized mean differences with 95% confidence intervals were computed and a pooled estimate using a fixed- or random-effects model was applied.

resultsTwenty-seven studies were included in the meta-analysis. The results showed that only seven studies reported some information about gender-related factors. Concerning sex-related differences, women had a shorter mean RR interval and lower variability of the time domain indices than men. Sex-related differences concerning frequency domain indices were more evident during night-time compared to daytime.

conclusionThe characterization of gender-related factors in the study of heart rate variability using 24-h ECG recordings is still sporadic and underexplored. The meta-analysis results could not conclusively support a significant increase of high frequency power in women, although women showed a reduced total power and low frequency to high frequency ratio. There is a strong need for considering heart rate variability in relation to gender-related variables.

Indexed as

Autonomic Nervous SystemHeartElectrocardiographyFemaleHeart RateHumansMaleSex FactorsGender differenceHeart rate variabilityNightSex difference

Identifiers

PMID37541968
PMCPMC10751261

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.