State of Neurodynamic Functions and Regulatory Processes of the Heart According to Indicators of Heart Rate Variability in Individuals With Insufficient and Increased Body Weight

Abstract

One of the most common diseases in the whole world is obesity. Every year, 18-20 thousand new cases of obesity are recorded in Ukraine. Also, the number of obese students during their studies in institutions of higher education is rapidly increasing, for whom the first year of study is the most difficult and problematic. It is known that even under normal conditions, excessive body weight requires increased energy supply and persons with insufficient weight suffer from a lack of reserves. Therefore, the purpose of our work was to study the features of the state of neurodynamic functions and regulatory processes of the heart based on indicators of heart rate variability in female students with different body weights during the first year of study at a higher education institution. This will be important for the development of individual disease prevention measures for this category of students. The study examined full-time female students (17-18 years old) of the Faculty of Natural Geography Education and Ecology of National Pedagogical Dragomanov University, who were divided into groups according to body mass index: normal, overweight, and underweight. The study was conducted on days of high mental performance under standard conditions in six stages. An electrocardiogram was registered, rhythmograms and variation pulsometry indicators were calculated, and the functional state of the central nervous system was studied using computer methods. According to the Kruskal-Wallis and ANOVA tests, the following indicators were most sensitive to the influence of body weight: moda, moda amplitude, stress index, autonomic balance index, and heart rate. According to Spearman’s non-parametric correlation analysis, at each stage of the examination, correlations between variation characteristics of heart rate variability and indicators of the state of the central nervous system were revealed, and their nature was clarified. It was established that the nature of the correlations in the studied groups was different. Thus, it was established that the deviation of body weight from the norm affects the regulatory processes of the heart and neurodynamic functions during the first year of study. Overweight and underweight female students during the first year of study had a significantly higher intension of regulatory mechanisms compared to female students with a normal body weight, so they can be classified as a group at risk of developing psychosomatic diseases.