Impact of stress on biomechanical fatigue and arterial function in young adolescents – A cross sectional study

Abstract

Background

Adolescence is a phase of life that prioritizes career and life choices, leading to increased stress levels. Increases in stress levels are seen as a key risk factor for cardiovascular and muscular disorders. Pulse Wave Velocity is a non-invasive and reliable measure of arterial stiffness. Biomechanical fatigue is a reliable marker for estimating fatigue levels, indicating physical efficiency. The current study aimed to find out the impact of stress on biomechanical fatigue and arterial stiffness among adolescents in the Indian population.

Materials & methods

The study was conducted among 664 participants from three schools randomly selected from Chennai. After collecting basic demographics, stress was assessed by evaluating all three components of stress i.e., psychological, neural, and hormonal components using the perceived stress scale, Heart rate variability, and Salivary Cortisol. Biomechanical fatigue was assessed using Fatigue Pictogram and arterial stiffness was measured by Pulse Wave Velocity.

Results

The current study results disclose that stress was found to have a negative influence on sleep hygiene, biomechanical fatigue, arterial function, and academic performance (p < 0.05). Fatigue pictogram has shown that there is no significant association between stress and physical fatigue (p-0.128). Most of the stressed participants were found to have an increased Pulse wave velocity (PWV) (67.4 %), which was statistically significant (p < 0.0001).

Conclusion

The current study suggests that stress significantly impacts biomechanical fatigue which leads the students to inadequate academic and physical performance. Furthermore, stress can also predispose to the early onset of prehypertension due to increased arterial stiffness.