Study data - psychosocial stress and cardiovascular autonomic indices

The study assessed the prevalence of stress, anxiety and depression among various cadres of junior doctors. Subsequently, study participants underwent an exercise stress ECG to measure heart rate recovery after exercise and chronotropic index, as measures of cardiovascular autonomic function. This is premised on chronic psychosocial stress causing cardiovascular autonomic dysfunction, characterised by sustained increase in sympathetic output with diminished parasympathetic output, culminating in impaired heart rate recovery and chronotropic index as measures of cardiovascular autonomic function.Junior doctors were sampled systematically from 7 departments with approximately 1:1 gender representation. Selection was proportionate to the number of junior doctors per rank in the selected departments. All participants filled a self-administered quesitonnaire and underwent an exercise stress test.The study showed that despite high levels of stress, anxiety and depression, there were low rates of impaired cardiovascular autonomic indices. This likely suggests that despite the high levels of psychosocial factors, they have not progressed to chronic levels that result in significant impairments