Article ID: IJAE-D-23-00022
In this paper, we used ALLSTAR big data to investigate changes in Heart rate variability(HRV) and body acceleration(BA) in younger (20s) and elderly groups (70s) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Compared to before (2019) and during (2020, 2021) the COVID-19 pandemic, significant decrease in HRV was observed in both the younger and the elderly groups (P<0.01). BA in the younger groups decreased significantly in 2020 compared to 2019, and no significant difference was observed in the elderly group. Mental stress due to the COVID-19 pandemic is thought to be one of the factors contributing to the decrease in HRV. In the elderly group, respiratory frequency was faster in 2020 than in 2019 (P<0.01) and slower in 2021 than in 2020 (P<0.01). It is thought that the respiratory frequency is changing due to the mask life.
