SynthesisOccupational medicine (Oxford, England)2025
Continuous heart rate variability monitoring, stress and recovery in doctors: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Occupational medicine (Oxford, England), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Effects of ceiling fan use on cardiovascular autonomic function during simulated indoor overheating in bed-resting older adults.Experimental physiology · 2026Trial
- Mapping Movement Behaviors and Mental Health Among Frontline Workers: Scoping Review.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2026Article
- Examination of Relationships Between 24-Hour Movement Behaviors and Mental Health Outcomes in Frontline Workers: Protocol for a Scoping Review.JMIR research protocols · 2026Article
- Burnout and Biological Biomarkers in Emergency and Acute-Care Healthcare Workers: A Systematic Scoping Review with Evidence Mapping.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundBurnout is a rising concern among doctors. Heart rate variability (HRV), a non-invasive measure of autonomic nervous system activity, can reflect physiological states of sympathetic (stress) and parasympathetic (recovery) nervous system activity.
aimsThis review aims to evaluate how continuous ambulatory HRV monitoring has been used to understand patterns of stress and recovery in doctors.
methodsThe study protocol was preregistered (PROSPERO CRD42023413282). A comprehensive search was conducted. Studies were eligible if they reported at least one HRV parameter combined with at least one contextual or psychological assessment over a 24-hour period in a doctor population. Methodological quality was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute risk of bias assessment for case reports and the Standard for Reporting Diagnostic Accuracy in HRV studies STARDHRV.
resultsWe identified 805 records of which seven studies met the inclusion criteria. Meta-analysis was carried out for five different HRV parameters. Studies were conducted in seven different countries, ranged in participant numbers from 12 to 54 and each used a different HRV measurement device. There was a statistically significant difference in HRV between stress and recovery periods with four of these five parameters; root mean square of successive differences SMD = -0.63, P = 0.005, standard deviation of the NN (inter-beat) intervals SMD = -1.05, P = 0.001, low frequency (LF) Standard Mean Difference (SMD) = 0.54, P = 0.01, LF/high frequency (HF) SMD = 0.69, P = 0.006. The quality of studies was moderate at best.
conclusionsContinuous HRV monitoring may offer a viable method for tracking stress and recovery patterns that may contribute to burnout.
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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.