Abstract
Background: Heart rate variability (HRV) analysis is a useful tool for evaluating the heart's ability to adjust to external loads. This study aimed to assess the gender impact on cardiac autonomic modulation response in Cameroonian handballers. Method: ology: A prospective analytical study was conducted on sports teams. Participants were divided into three groups; people who practiced little or no sporting activity (sedentary, male), those who were regularly physically active in a handball team (male and female athletes). Resting Heart Rate (HR) was recorded for 10 min and analysed. Results: (proportion of successive NN intervals that differ by more than 50 ms) were lower in sedentary people (16.22; 9.97; 0.16) than in male handballers group (29.00; 16.44; 2.15; p < 0.001 and p < 0.05). Very-low-frequency relative power was higher in male players than in female players (30.82 vs 21.29; p < 0.05). However, male Low-Frequency relative power, High-Frequency absolute and relative power (69.26; 3.46 and 6.96) were significantly lower than in female players (77.12; 4.19 and 9.67, with p < 0.05; p < 0.05; p < 0.01 respectively). The effect size for gender was low for the Low-Frequency parameter. Conclusion: The findings revealed an association between sports practice and high HRV values but do not allow for a clear conclusion regarding the impact of gender on the parasympathetic and sympathetic parameters determining HRV.