SynthesisInternational journal of environmental research and public health2021
Neurophysiological Approach by Self-Control of Your Stress-Related Autonomic Nervous System with Depression, Stress and Anxiety Patients.
Synthesis in International journal of environmental research and public health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT07415915 (Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback Training to Reduce Stress and Anxiety During Dentistry Students' Clinical Transition), which is not on this map. Cited by 41 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.
Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback Training to Reduce Stress and Anxiety During Dentistry Students' Clinical Transition
Who cites it
41 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 85 citations in OpenAlex.
- Virtual Reality Breathing Interventions for Mental Health: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Applied psychophysiology and biofeedback · 2024Pooled it
- Do Mental Health Changes in Nature Co-occur with Changes in Heartrate Variability and Executive Functioning? A Systematic Review.Current environmental health reports · 2023Pooled it
- A meta-analysis investigating the outcomes and correlation between heart rate variability biofeedback training on depressive symptoms and heart rate variability outcomes versus standard treatment in comorbid adult populations.Acta bio-medica : Atenei Parmensis · 2023Pooled it
- A Randomized Sham-Controlled Trial of Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback Following Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).Applied psychophysiology and biofeedback · 2026Trial
- Feasibility and Safety of a Single-Session of Transcutaneous Cervical Magnetic Stimulation, taVNS, and iTBS on Heart Rate Variability, Safety, and Pain Modulation.The European journal of neuroscience · 2025Trial
- Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback Training Can Improve Menopausal Symptoms and Psychological Well-Being in Women with a Diagnosis of Primary Breast Cancer: A Longitudinal Randomized Controlled Trial.Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2025Trial
- The Physiological and Clinical-Behavioral Effects of Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback in Adolescents with Autism: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.Applied psychophysiology and biofeedback · 2024Trial
- Impact of 24 h shifts on urinary catecholamine in emergency physicians: a cross-over randomized trial.Scientific reports · 2024Trial
- Experience-dependent development of vagal circuitry in rodents and humans.Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews · 2026Review
- Mindfulness Development via Biofeedback for Anxiety in Hospitalized Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Brain sciences · 2026Article
- The Impact of Respiratory Biofeedback on Anxiety Levels in Men with Incomplete Cervical Spinal Cord Injury: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Applied psychophysiology and biofeedback · 2026Article
- The COMPASS framework for chronic pain and posttraumatic stress disorder: navigating the transition from threat to safety through yoga.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Impact of initial autonomic dysfunction on long-term psychocognitive and functional prognoses in older patients with acute cerebral infarction.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2026Article
- Biofeedback with heart sounds following a traumatic event.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Ambroxol's Role in PTZ-Induced Anxiety-Like Conditions in Mice: Targeting Neuroinflammation and Oxidative Stress via In Vivo and In Silico Approaches.Molecular neurobiology · 2025Article
- Effects of A Brief Resonance Frequency Breathing Exercise on Heart Rate Variability and Inhibitory Control in the Context of Generalised Anxiety Disorder.Applied psychophysiology and biofeedback · 2025Article
- Article
- Parenting styles and internet addiction in college students: self-esteem and self-control as mediators.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- Prediction of the impact of anxiety on atrial fibrillation recurrence after radiofrequency catheter ablation based on heart rate variability.Frontiers in surgery · 2025Article
- General attachment and behavioral problem among Chinese adolescents: a serial multiple mediation model.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
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 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundHeart Rate Variability Biofeedback (HRVB) is a treatment in which patients learn self-regulation of a physiological dysregulated vagal nerve function. While the therapeutic approach of HRVB is promising for a variety of disorders, it has not yet been regularly offered in a mental health treatment setting.
aimTo provide a systematic review about the efficacy of HRV-Biofeedback in treatment of anxiety, depression, and stress related disorders.
methodSystematic review in PubMed and Web of Science in 2020 with terms HRV, biofeedback, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), depression, panic disorder, and anxiety disorder. Selection, critical appraisal, and description of the Random Controlled Trials (RCT) studies. Combined with recent meta-analyses.
resultsThe search resulted in a total of 881 studies. After critical appraisal, nine RCTs have been selected as well as two other relevant studies. The RCTs with control groups treatment as usual, muscle relaxation training and a "placebo"-biofeedback instrument revealed significant clinical efficacy and better results compared with control conditions, mostly significant. In the depression studies average reduction at the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) scale was 64% (HRVB plus Treatment as Usual (TAU) versus 25% (control group with TAU) and 30% reduction (HRVB) at the PSQ scale versus 7% (control group with TAU). In the PTSD studies average reduction at the BDI-scale was 53% (HRV plus TAU) versus 24% (control group with TAU) and 22% (HRVB) versus 10% (TAU) with the PTSD Checklist (PCL). In other systematic reviews significant effects have been shown for HRV-Biofeedback in treatment of asthma, coronary artery disease, sleeping disorders, postpartum depression and stress and anxiety.
conclusionThis systematic review shows significant improvement of the non-invasive HRVB training in stress related disorders like PTSD, depression, and panic disorder, in particular when combined with cognitive behavioral therapy or different TAU. Effects were visible after four weeks of training, but clinical practice in a longer daily self-treatment of eight weeks is more promising. More research to integrate HRVB in treatment of stress related disorders in psychiatry is warranted, as well as research focused on the neurophysiological mechanisms.
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.