PhD, Associate Professor I.V. Fedotova¹ 
Dr.Med., Professor M.E. Statsenko²
Dr.Med., Associate Professor V.V. Skvortsov² 
PhD, Associate Professor V.G. Zaitsev^{2, 3 
1}Volgograd State Physical Education Academy, Volgograd
²Volgograd State Medical University, Volgograd
³Volgograd State University, Volgograd

Keywords: heart rate variability, ex-athletes, psychoemotional status.

Background. Assessment of heart rate variability (HRV) can be used to evaluate physiological adaptation [7] including adaptation to changes in exercise regimen caused by retirement from professional sports [4]. Psychosocial maladaptation was detected in most high ranking athletes soon after retirement [3]. Closed interdependence between psychoemotional disorders and autonomic dysfunction is well-documented [1, 5, 6]. Additionally, gender- and age-related factors can influence post-retirement adaptation of athletes. Markers of HRV and psychoemotional status can be used to predict dysadaptation in the early post-retirement period [2]. However, it is not yet clear how HRV parameters correlate with psychoemotional status of retired athletes in relation to age.

Subject to the study were 124 high-ranking retired athletes of both genders with retirement records under 5 years. The ex-athletes were split into two age groups – 18-21 years (group I, 65 persons) and 22-25 years (group II, 59 persons). HRV was rated using the R.M. Bayevskiy Test (2001) with short 5-minute ECG records being obtaine. The subjects’ psychoemotional status and stress exposure rates were obtained using the Neurotization and Psychopathization Scale and Reeder Stress Inventory.

Younger ex-athletes (group I) were found to have increased tonus of the sympathetic nervous system characterized by statistically significant decrease in SDNN [standard deviation of normal RR intervals], reduced low-frequency [LF] and high-frequency [HF] power rates, elevated LF/HF ratio and increased tension index [TI]) comparing to ex-athletes from group II (Table 1).

Table 1. Age-specific heart rate variability measures in ex-athletes

* Inter-group differences are statistically significant (p<0.05)

Moreover, younger ex-athletes had higher levels of psychological stress and neurotization than older ex-athletes. Observed results allowed to quantify the relation of the neurotization level to the sympathetic nervous system activation and autonomic dysfunction (Table 2).

Table 2. Measures of the Neurotization and Psychopathization Scale in ex-athletes.

* Inter-group differences are statistically significant (p<0.05)

In conclusion, the study data and analyses made it possible to find the statistically significant changes in the autonomic regulation connected with the psychoemotional status disturbances in the ex-athletes formed in the early post-retirement period.

References

1. Sivyakova O.N., Konyuk E.F. Diagnostika i lechenie neyro-tsirkulyatornoy distonii [Neurocirculatory distonia: diagnostics and treatment]. Rossiiskii kardiologicheskii zhurnal, 2006, no.1(57), pp. 44-47. 
2. Fedotova I.V., Bakulin V.S., Tamozhnikova I.S. Nekotorye aspekty vzaimosvyazi psikhoemotsionalnogo sostoyaniya, urovnya stressogennosti i pokazateley variabelnosti serdechnogo ritma u eks-sportsmenov v zavisimosti ot gendernykh osobennostey [Some gender-specific aspects of relationships between psychoemotional status, stress level and heart rate variability indices in ex-athletes]. Scientific Review. Proc. international scie. conf., 2015, pp 543-550.
3. Fedotova I.V., Statsenko M.E. Sravnitelnaya otsenka psikhoemotsionalnogo sostoyaniya i urovnya stressogennosti u byvshikh i deystvuyuschikh sportsmenov [Comparative evaluation psychoemotional state and stress impact level of former and active athletes]. Vestnik novykh meditsinskikh tekhnologiy, 2009., vol. 16, no. 4, pp. 95-96.
4. Fedotova I.V., Statsenko M.E., Bakulin V.S. Osobennosti pokazateley variabelnosti serdechnogo ritma i kachestva zhizni u deystvuyuschikh i byvshikh sportsmenov [Features of heart rate variability and quality of life among the acting and former athletes]. Uchenye zapiski universiteta im. Lesgafta. 2015. no. 2 (120). P. 182-186. 
5. Chang H.A., Chang C.C., Kuo T.B., Huang S.Y. Distinguishing bipolar II depression from unipolar major depressive disorder: Differences in heart rate variability. World J. Biol Psychiatry, 2015, no.24, pp. 1-10. 
6. Cukic I.N, Bates T.S. The Association between Neuroticism and Heart Rate Variability Is Not Fully Explained by Cardiovascular Disease and Depression. PLoS One, 2015, 10(5):e0125882. doi: 10.1371
7. Esco M.R., Flatt A.A. Ultra-short-term heart rate variability indexes at rest and post-exercise in athletes: evaluating the agreement with accepted recommendations. J Sports Sci Med., 2014 Sep., no.13(3), pp. 535-541.

Abstract

The article gives an analysis of the age-specific profiles of retired high-ranking athletes’ heart rate variability and psychoemotional status in correlation with the autonomic regulation process in post-retirement adaptation period. Subject to the study were 124 high-ranking retired athletes of both genders with retirement records under 5 years. Group 1 was composed of 65 ex-athletes of 18-21 years of age, and Group 2 included 59 ex-athletes aged 22-25 years. The heart rate variability was rated using the R.M. Bayevskiy Test (2001) with short 5-minute ECG records being obtained. The subjects’ psycho-emotional status and stress exposure rates were obtained using the Neurotization and Psychopathization Scale and Reeder Stress Inventory.

The study data and analyses made it possible to find the statistically significant changes in the autonomic regulation connected with the psychoemotional status disturbances in the ex-athletes; and this finding urges due medical and psychological service being provided to retired athletes as soon as they retire.