title: Respiratory sinus arrhythmia among menopausal women after exposition to extremely-low-frequency magnetic fields.
abstract: In this paper I endeavored to show that respiratory sinus arrhythmia closely corresponds with the perception of psychosomatic complaints. To achieve this aim, two groups of menopausal women, each consisting of 85 subjects, were compared, one of which exhibiting troubles with falling asleep, frequent awakening at night, and sweating and fatigability sensations during the day and the other being asymptomatic. Comparative non-invasive biometric analysis included the following: total, inspiratory, and expiratory heart rate, breathing rate, and respiratory sinus arrhythmia. Overall, I found that the respiratory sinus arrhythmia and heart and breathing rates were substantially greater in women with psychosomatic complaints. In this group, the cardiorespiratory indices were further enhanced following exposure to extremely-low-frequency magnetic fields. The study suggests the predominance of sympathetic aspects of the autonomic nervous system as a result of psychosomatic complaints in menopausal women and calls for a caution in using the extremely-low-frequency magnetic stimulation in such women, which may exacerbate untoward heart and respiratory responses.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychophysiology, Institute of Psychology, Opole University, Opole, Poland. sje@o2.pl
authors.forename: M B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Pecyna
mesh_terms: D001146:Arrhythmia, Sinus / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D001341:Autonomic Nervous System / Q000503:physiopathology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004574:Electromagnetic Fields / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D008593:Menopause / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011602:Psychophysiologic Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D012119:Respiration