title: The role of wearable sensors and wireless technologies for the assessment of heart rate variability in anorexia nervosa.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Bradycardia and abnormal cardiac autonomic function are related to increased mortality in anorexia nervosa (AN). The aim of this study was to assess heart rate (HR) and HR variability of young adolescents with AN as compared to controls by means of wearable sensors and wireless technologies.
  
  
  METHODS
  The ECG signal was recorded in 27 AN girls and 15 healthy girls at rest using a wearable chest strap. The tachogram, the mean intervals between R peaks (meanRR), the root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD), the power of low-frequency (LF) and high-frequency (HF) bands and the LF/HF ratio were assessed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All AN girls showed a reduced HR and an increased meanRR and RMSSD. An HF increase, a LF decrease, and a LF/HF reduction indicated a prevalence of the parasympathetic on sympathetic activity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The instruments used in this pilot study were feasible, unobtrusive and extremely suitable in AN subjects who are burdened by high incidence of cardiovascular mortality; their application could open to new approaches of vital signs monitoring in hospitals as well as in home settings.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Clinical Physiology, National Research Council of Italy (CNR), via Moruzzi 1, 56124, Pisa, Italy, lucia.billeci@ifc.cnr.it.
authors.forename: Lucia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Billeci
authors.forename: Gennaro
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tartarisco
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Brunori
authors.forename: Giulia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Crifaci
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Scardigli
authors.forename: Rita
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Balocchi
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pioggia
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Maestro
authors.forename: Maria Aurora
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Morales
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000856:Anorexia Nervosa / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001341:Autonomic Nervous System / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002648:Child; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic / Q000295:instrumentation*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D059015:Wireless Technology / Q000295:instrumentation*