Perceived Subjective Stress and its Association with 5-min Electrocardiogram-based Heart Rate Variability in Middle-aged Women of an Urban Area of West India

Lack of HRV to perceived subjective stress association was observed in 40-55-year-old women with mild confounding by diabetes and/or hypertension. We suggest HRV total power and low-frequency: high-frequency ratio as best HRV parameters and consideration of age, reproductive health stage, and presence of comorbidities as a weak confounder for both HRV and PSS studies of middle-aged women. Further studies are warranted to consolidate the utility of HRV and PSS for the assessment of these two different types of stress.