Features of the Morphofunctional Status and Mechanisms of Vegetative Regulation in Female University Students with Disabilities after Finishing Personal Training Programs

Abstract

Background: Improvement of the physical education curriculum for university students with disabilities is an important component of enhancing the quality of life of young people. Heart rate variability is one of the most informative and valid indicators of physical health allowing evaluation of the contribution of mechanisms regulating physiological functions and the cost of adaptation to learning and physical activity. Objective: To examine the morphofunctional status and heart rate variability in female students with hearing impairment after finishing personal exercise programs. Materials and methods: The main morphofunctional indicators were tested in 80 female university students aged 18–20 years, equally divided into case and control groups, including body height and weight, total and visceral fat, and blood pressure. Time and spectral analysis and variation pulsometry were used to establish heart rate variability in them. Results: After finishing personal exercise programs by the end of the 2022/2023 academic year, the female students demonstrated a decrease in body fat mass (from 37 ± 2 to 32 ± 2 %), systolic blood pressure (from 138 ± 4 to 130 ± 3 mm Hg), and heart rate at rest (from 93 ± 2 to 85 ± 3 bpm). Their tension of the cardioregulatory systems declined (the stress index dropped from 217 ± 33 to 157 ± 28 c.u.), while the activity of the parasympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system and the autonomous circuit of heart rate regulation increased. The control group showed no significant changes by the end of the academic year but the body weight tended to decrease along with the total (from 38 ± 3 to 36 ± 2 %) and visceral fat (from 8 ± 1 to 6 ± 1 %). Conclusion: The use of personal training programs compiled with account for individual morphofunctional and psychophysiological indicators helps improve physical health parameters of female students with disabilities.