Trial reportEarly human development2013
Heart rate variability during caregiving and sleep after massage therapy in preterm infants.
Trial report in Early human development, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 15 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
The Effect of Perinatal Stress on the Development of Preterm Infants
The Effect of Massage, Wipe Bathing and Tub Bathing on Physiological Measurements of Late Premature Newborns: A Randomised Controlled Trial
Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 44 citations in OpenAlex.
- A systematic review and multivariate meta-analysis of the physical and mental health benefits of touch interventions.Nature human behaviour · 2024Pooled it
- Nursing Interventions That Promote Sleep in Preterm Newborns in the Neonatal Intensive Care Units: An Integrative Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- First Brazilian recommendation on physiotherapy with sensory motor stimulation in newborns and infants in the intensive care unit.Revista Brasileira de terapia intensivaPooled it
- The effects of massage therapy to induce sleep in infants born preterm.Pediatric physical therapy : the official publication of the Section on Pediatrics of the American Physical Therapy Association · 2014Trial
- Impact of touch interventions on brain activity in moderately preterm infants: study protocol for a pilot randomised controlled trial.BMJ open · 2025Article
- Comparing Full and Pre-Term Neonates' Heart Rate Variability in Rest Condition and during Spontaneous Interactions with Their Parents at Home.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Do parents need application-based learning media to learn baby massage? A qualitative study.Journal of education and health promotion · 2023Article
- Article
- Using Temporal Data Mining on Patient Data for Clinical Decision Making in the Care of the Sick Newborn.EC paediatrics : open access · 2022Article
- Neonatal heart rate variability: a contemporary scoping review of analysis methods and clinical applications.BMJ open · 2021Article
- Maturation of the Autonomic Nervous System in Premature Infants: Estimating Development Based on Heart-Rate Variability Analysis.Frontiers in physiology · 2020Article
- Sleep Disturbances in Newborns.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2017Review
- Review of Randomized Controlled Trials of Massage in Preterm Infants.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2017Review
- Massage therapy research review.Complementary therapies in clinical practice · 2016Review
- Comparison of Massage and Prone Position on Heart Rate and Blood Oxygen Saturation Level in Preterm Neonates Hospitalized in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Iranian journal of nursing and midwifery researchArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundPreterm birth impairs the infant's stress response due to interruption of autonomic nervous system (ANS) development. Preterm infants demonstrate a prolonged and aberrant sympathetic response to stressors. ANS development may be promoted by massage therapy (MT), which has been shown to improve stress response in preterm infants.
aimsThe aim of this study was to compare preterm infant ANS function and stress response during sleep and caregiving epochs, as measured by heart rate variability (HRV), after two weeks of twice-daily MT. STUDY
designA subset of participants from a larger randomized, masked, controlled trial was used. SUBJECTS: Twenty-one infants (8 males and 13 females) from a larger study of 37 medically stable preterm infants were studied. The infants were receiving full volume enteral feedings with a mean post-menstrual age of 31.4 (MT) and 30.9 (control) weeks. OUTCOME MEASURES: Low to high frequency (LF:HF) ratio of HRV was the outcome of interest.
resultsThere was a significant group×time×sex interaction effect (p<.05). Male control infants demonstrated a significant decline in LF:HF ratio from baseline to the second caregiving epoch, suggesting decreased mobilization of sympathetic nervous system response when exposed to stressors. Male MT infants demonstrated increased LF:HF ratio during caregiving and decreased LF:HF ratio during sleep epochs, suggesting improved ANS function, although this was not statistically significant. LF:HF ratio was similar in female MT and female control infants during caregiving and sleep.
conclusionsControl males had decreased HRV compared to MT males. There was no difference in HRV between MT and control females.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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 OpenQuestion graph.