Childhood sexual abuse as a predictor of Complex Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A meta-analysis
Sexual abuse, especially when it occurs during childhood, is an experience that causes deep and lasting harm. Currently, its study as a risk factor for the development of trauma-related pathologies is of great relevance. In 2018, Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD) was officially recognized as a distinct syndrome in the 11th Revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11), with the aim of distinguishing it from neurotic disorders secondary to stressful situations, somatoform disorders, and those specifically associated with stress. The inclusion of CPTSD in the ICD-11 marked the culmination of two decades of research dedicated to understanding its symptoms, treatments, and risk factors. This article aims to conduct a meta-analysis that explores the relationship between sexual abuse and the development of CPTSD. Fifteen studies were selected for analysis, and the results revealed several key risk factors associated with the development of CPTSD, with the primary one being childhood sexual abuse (k = 15; OR = 3.007).
DOI: 10.29245/2578-2959/2024/3.1324 View / Download PdfPsychophysiological factors are not directly associated to Heart Rate Variability in Athletes: A Meta-Analysis
Objective: Although heart rate variability (HRV) has been a useful and accessible tool to monitor recovery from athletes’ training, it is not clear if it reflects changes in psychophysiological factors. The aim of these study is to identify, through a systematic review and meta-analyses, whether the psychophysiological factors are associated with alteration in heart rate variability (HRV) in sports.
Methods: We searched in four databases (PubMed; Scopus; Cochrane; Web of Science) for studies assessing the association of root mean square of successive differences between normal heartbeats (RMSSD) with a variety of psychophysiological outcomes in athletes of any modality.
Results: After initial search, we selected 12 studies with 27 study arms for analysis. First, we combined 19 study arms in a meta-analysis testing the correlation between HRV and the psychophysiological factors at baseline (Meta 1). Second, we combined 9 study arms in a meta-analysis testing the correlation between HRV and changes in psychophysiological factors within a training period (Meta 2). We analyzed the following psychophysiological factors: stress, sleep deprivation, fatigue, muscular soreness, mood, and hormonal changes (cortisol). summary, there was no significant association between the HRV and the psychophysiological factors in both meta-analyses (Meta 1: r = 0.084, P = 0.167; I² = 20%, P-value for heterogeneity = 0.215; and Meta 2: r = 0.268, P = 0.131, I² = 65.2%, P-value for heterogeneity = 0.003).
Conclusion: We were not able to confirm the association between HRV and any psychophysiological factors by meta-analysis, but it could be due to inherent limitations of this type of analyses. To test whether this associations truly exist, future meta-analysis will need to include studies with much larger sample size and standardize the methods between studies to reduce heterogeneity. Longitudinal studies will be fundamental to understand the causal relationship between these factors to ultimately improve training monitoring tools for better recovery in athletes.
DOI: 10.29245/2578-2959/2024/3.1323 View / Download Pdf