A Comparison of Mental Health of School Age Children between Urban and Rural Area and a Correlation Analysis of Subjective Mental Health Indicators and Heart Rate Variability

초록

Purpose: This study was performed to compare the mental health of school age children residing in urban and rural areas and to analyze the correlations between the subjective mental health indicators such as depression and attention deficit–hyperactivity behavior and heart rate variability (HRV) indicators. Methods: For this study, a convenience sample of one hundred and three children was recruited. Depression and attention deficit-hyperactivity behavior were measured using self-reported questionnaires and HRV indicators were measured using an electronic instrument. Results: Among the HRV parameters of the rural children, their normalized LF and the LF / HF were significantly lower than those of the urban children. The RMSSD and the normalized HF were statistically significantly higher. The level of depression showed a significant positive correlation with the normalized LF and LF/HF, but showed a negative correlation with the normalized HF. Also, the level of attention deficit-hyperactivity behavior was significantly correlated with the normalized LF, LF/HF, and the normalized HF. Conclusion: Based on the findings, we expect that HRV indicators can be applied to predict the level of depression and attention deficit-hyperactivity behavior in elementary school children.

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