title: Changes in heart rate variability among RF plastic sealer operators.
abstract: In a previous study, we showed that operators of radiofrequency (RF) plastic sealers, RF operators (n = 35) had a lower heart rate during nighttime compared to a control group (n = 37). We have analyzed the heart rate variability (HRV) on the same group of people to better understand the possible underlying rhythm disturbances. We found a significantly increased total HRV and very low frequency (VLF) power during nighttime among the RF operators compared to a control group. Together with our previous finding of a significantly lower heart rate during nighttime among the RF operators compared to the controls, this finding indicates a relative increase in parasympathetic cardiac modulation in RF operators. This could in turn be due to an adaptation of the thermoregulatory system and the cardiac autonomic modulation to a long-term low-level thermal exposure in the RF operators.
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Working Life, Umeå, Sweden. jonna@niwl.se
authors.forename: Jonna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wilén
authors.forename: Urban
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Wiklund
authors.forename: Rolf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hörnsten
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sandström
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology* / Q000528:radiation effects*; D006801:Humans; D007221:Industry / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010969:Plastics; D011846:Radio Waves; D012062:Relative Biological Effectiveness; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D010969:Plastics