Cardiac Autonomic Profile in Remote Working Office Employee With and Without Children

Abstract

Remote work is a novel job condition characterized by an overlap between working and domestic demands. The stress-related impact of this modality has been mainly evaluated qualitatively but not quantitatively. The aim of the study was to compare the cardiac autonomic profile of office employees with and without children during a day of remote work by means of power spectral analysis of heart rate variability extracted by a 24-hour Holter ECG recording. A visual analogue scale (VAS) was collected to measure the rate of the perceived level of stress while remotely working. Fifty subjects were enrolled: 23 with at least one child (CHILD group, 9 males) and 27 without (NO_CHILD group, 16 males). Vagal modulation was assessed as the power of the RR interval time series in the high frequency (HFRR, from 0.15 to 0.40 Hz) band. The VAS was not significantly different in the two groups. HFRR did not exhibit circadian rhythm in CHILD group, while it was higher during NIGHT compared to DAY in NO_CHILD group. During NIGHT, HFRR was greater in NO_CHILD than in CHILD group. During remote working, CHILD group was characterized by a reduced nocturnal vagal modulation compared to NO_CHILD one. The latter result might be considered a risk factor for cardiovascular disease in the long-term period.