Perseverative Cognition and vagally mediated heart rate variability in laboratory studies: A series of meta-analyses

Worry and rumination are common forms of perseverative cognition (PC) that have been linked to adverse health outcomes. PC has been associated with lower vagally-mediated heart rate variability (vmHRV) which is a validated biomarker for self-regulation. However, the laboratory findings have not been meta-analytically synthesized in terms of resting, reactivity, and recovery periods. In this study, six meta-analyses were conducted to compute the within- and between-subject effect sizes for association between PC and vmHRV during resting, reactivity, and recovery periods. A total of 60 effect sizes were extracted from 28 eligible studies. Moderators included age, percentage of women participants, vmHRV recording duration, type of PC, country of study, and quality of study. Small to medium effect sizes were observed, indicating that higher levels of PC were associated with lower levels of resting vmHRV (k =14, g = .46, SE = .10), within-subject reactivity vmHRV (k=18, g = .22, SE = .06), and within-subject recovery vmHRV (k=9, g = .19, SE = .08). Between-subject resting, reactivity, and recovery effect sizes were nonsignificant. Heterogeneity among effect sizes was detected across the meta-analyses but the coded moderators did not account for significant variability. Results of sensitivity analyses supported the stability of the observed effect sizes. Implications for mechanistic and intervention research, limitations, and future recommendations were discussed.Keywords: Perseverative Cognition, vmHRV, Resting, Reactivity, Recovery, Worry, Rumination