The effect of heart rate variability biofeedback training on stress and anxiety: a meta-analysis

Some evidence suggests that heart rate variability (HRV) biofeedback might be an effective way to treat anxiety and stress symptoms. To examine the effect of HRV biofeedback on symptoms of anxiety and stress, we conducted a meta-analysis of studies extracted from PubMed, PsycINFO and the Cochrane Li...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychological medicine Vol. 47; no. 15; pp. 2578 - 2586
Main Authors: Goessl, V. C., Curtiss, J. E., Hofmann, S. G.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 01.11.2017
Subjects:
Analysis
Anxiety
Anxiety - physiopathology
Anxiety - therapy
Anxiety disorders
Anxiety Disorders - physiopathology
Anxiety Disorders - therapy
Bias
Biofeedback
Biofeedback, Psychology - physiology
Cardiac arrhythmia
Efficacy
Feedback
Heart rate
Heart Rate - physiology
Hedges
Humans
Meta-analysis
Post traumatic stress disorder
Stress
Stress management
Stress, Psychological - physiopathology
Stress, Psychological - therapy
Symptoms
Systematic review
Training
Variability
biofeedback
meta-analysis
stress
Anxiety
HRV
ISSN:0033-2917, 1469-8978, 1469-8978
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Some evidence suggests that heart rate variability (HRV) biofeedback might be an effective way to treat anxiety and stress symptoms. To examine the effect of HRV biofeedback on symptoms of anxiety and stress, we conducted a meta-analysis of studies extracted from PubMed, PsycINFO and the Cochrane Library. The search identified 24 studies totaling 484 participants who received HRV biofeedback training for stress and anxiety. We conducted a random-effects meta-analysis. The pre-post within-group effect size (Hedges' g) was 0.81. The between-groups analysis comparing biofeedback to a control condition yielded Hedges' g = 0.83. Moderator analyses revealed that treatment efficacy was not moderated by study year, risk of study bias, percentage of females, number of sessions, or presence of an anxiety disorder. HRV biofeedback training is associated with a large reduction in self-reported stress and anxiety. Although more well-controlled studies are needed, this intervention offers a promising approach for treating stress and anxiety with wearable devices.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-2
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
content type line 14
ObjectType-Feature-3
ObjectType-Evidence Based Healthcare-1
ObjectType-Article-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 23
ISSN:0033-2917
1469-8978
1469-8978
DOI:10.1017/S0033291717001003