Heart rate variability and electrocardiographic parameters among workers exposed to chronic intermittent hypobaric hypoxia in the Peruvian Andes: A cross-sectional study Cardiac autonomic function in Andean workers
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Chronic intermittent hypobaric hypoxia is an occupational exposure experienced by workers who alternate between high-altitude worksites and lower-altitude resting locations. Its effects on cardiac autonomic modulation and electrocardiographic parameters remain insufficiently characterized in Andean workers. This study aimed to compare heart rate variability and electrocardiographic parameters between workers exposed to chronic intermittent hypobaric hypoxia and controls working permanently at lower altitude in Arequipa, Peru. An observational cross-sectional study was conducted in 96 male workers aged 20–60 years. The exposed group included 53 workers performing rotational shifts at altitudes ≥3,000 m above sea level with rest periods at <2,500 m, while the control group included 43 workers working permanently at <2,500 m. Heart rate variability was assessed during the morning rest period in Arequipa, at approximately 2,300 m above sea level, using a Polar® H10 heart rate sensor after 15 minutes of rest. Participants also underwent standard 12-lead electrocardiography. Vital signs were clinically similar between groups. No statistically significant differences were observed in PR interval, corrected QT interval, time-domain heart rate variability parameters, or frequency-domain heart rate variability parameters. In this sample of apparently healthy male workers evaluated during their rest period at moderate altitude, exposure to chronic intermittent hypobaric hypoxia was not associated with significant differences in resting heart rate variability or standard electrocardiographic parameters.
Source: medRxiv
Institution: Universidad Nacional de San Agustin de Arequipa
Language: English
Topic: High Altitude and Hypoxia
Subfield: Physiology (medical)
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7222461121