What is the clinical evidence from this study?

Study design: Observational. Population: Healthy (n=116). Intervention: Heart rate variability (HRV) measurement. Primary outcome: Test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficients) of HRV measures.

What question did this study set out to answer?

The aim is to investigate the test-retest reliability of short-term resting heart rate variability measures in a healthy young population.

March 31, 2026

Test-retest reliability of time- and frequency-domain measures of short-term resting heart rate variability in a healthy young population

Key Result

Short-term resting heart rate variability measures reflecting vagal tone (ln-RMSSD and ln-HF) demonstrated strong test-retest reliability across three time points in a healthy young population.

Key Points

The aim is to investigate the test-retest reliability of short-term resting heart rate variability measures in a healthy young population.
116 participants recorded HRV during a 7-minute seated rest across three time points (T1, T2, T3).
Participants completed a survey assessing confounding variables like sleep quality and exercise behavior.
Statistical analysis involved calculating intraclass correlation coefficients for HRV measures: ln-RMSSD, HFpeak, ln-HF, and HFnu.
Strong reliability was found for ln-RMSSD and ln-HF with high intraclass correlation coefficients.
Moderate reliability was observed for HFnu, while HFpeak showed poor reliability.
Findings support ln-RMSSD and ln-HF as consistent indicators of vagal tone.

Study Design

Type

Observational (n=116)

Structured PICO

What is the test-retest reliability of time- and frequency-domain measures of short-term resting heart rate variability in a healthy young population?

Population

116 healthy young participants

Intervention

7-minute seated rest heart rate variability (HRV) recording at three time points (T1, T2, T3)

Outcome

Test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficients) of ln-RMSSD, HFpeak, ln-HF, and HFnusurrogate

RMSSD and ln-HF show strong test-retest reliability, supporting their use as consistent trait-like markers of vagal tone.

Abstract

Heart rate variability (HRV), the difference in time between successive heart beats, is gaining in popularity among researchers because it is thought to be an effective index of parasympathetic activity. As such, HRV has been associated with individual traits related to mental, emotional, social and physical health outcomes. As it is being used more often as a reflection of relatively stable individual traits, the measurement of HRV's stability was investigated on three time points (T1, T2, T3). A total of 116 participants (i.e., 80 at all time points; 96 at T1 and T2, 89 at T1 and T3, 91 at T2 and T3) completed a survey to assess confounding variables (e.g., sleep quality, exercise behavior, contraceptive use, and consumption of food, recreational drugs, and alcohol) and engaged in a 7-minute seated rest HRV recording to observe ln-RMSSD, HFpeak, ln-HF, and HFnu. The intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) revealed strong correlations for ln-RMSSD and ln-HF.. Reliability analyses were significant but moderate for HFnu and poor for HFpeak. The measures best thought to reflect vagal tone (RMSSD and ln-HF) did show strong reliability supporting the use of these parameters as a consistent trait-like quality of an individual.

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