Assessing cardiovascular stress based on heart rate variability in female shift workers: a multiscale-multifractal analysis approach

Sleep-wake cycle disruption caused by shift work may lead to cardiovascular stress, which is observed as an alteration in the behavior of heart rate variability (HRV). In particular, HRV exhibits complex patterns over different time scales that help to understand the regulatory mechanisms of the autonomic nervous system, and changes in the fractality of HRV may be associated with pathological conditions, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, or even psychological stress. The main purpose of this study is to evaluate the multifractal-multiscale structure of HRV during sleep in healthy shift and non-shift workers to identify conditions of cardiovascular stress that may be associated with shift work.