Table 2.
Description of each modified STARDHRV criterion.
| Evaluation point | Points | Assessment standard | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Title or Abstract | Identification as a study of validation | 1 | Reported |
| 0 | Not reported | |||
| 2 | Abstract | Structured summary of study objective, design, methods, results, and conclusions | 1 | Yes |
| 0.5 | Yes, but not structured | |||
| 0 | Not reported | |||
| 3 | Introduction | Scientific and practical background, including the intended use of the index device/software | 1 | Complete, including the application of the HRV method |
| 0.5 | With limitations available | |||
| 0 | Insufficient background | |||
| 4 | Study objectives and hypotheses described | 1 | Study objectives and hypothesis | |
| Study objectives without hypothesis | ||||
| 0 | Not reported | |||
| 5 | Study uses within-subject design | 1 | Reported | |
| 0 | Not reported | |||
| 6 | Intended sample size and how it was determined (e.g., G*Power 3) | 1 | Reported | |
| 0 | Not reported | |||
| 7 | Eligibility criteria including specific restrictions (medical use, gender, age, activity level or BMI) | 1 | Reported for health, medical use, gender, age, activity, and (BMI) | |
| 0.5 | Reported in some criteria <1P | |||
| 0 | Not reported | |||
| 8 | Methods | Pre-testing guidelines reported (e.g., limitations to caffeine, alcohol, physical activity, etc.) | 1 | Reported for limitations to caffeine, alcohol and physical activity |
| 0.5 | Reported in some criteria <1P | |||
| 0 | Not reported | |||
| 9 | Setup of reference standard and index device described in sufficient detail to allow replication (e.g., hardware/software such as brand, electrode configuration, etc.) | 1 | Sufficient description. A replication is possible | |
| 0.5 | Limited description. A replication is partially possible | |||
| 0 | Insufficient description. Replication is not possible | |||
| 10 | Description of environmental conditions (e.g., temperature, humidity, lights on or off, time of day) and posture | 1 | Temperature + time of day or same time of day + body position | |
| 0.5 | Reported in some criteria <1P | |||
| 0 | Not reported | |||
| 11 | A stabilization period prior to sampling was described | 1 | Yes, with information about when and how long | |
| 0.5 | Yes, with information about when or how long | |||
| 0 | Not reported | |||
| 12 | The raw sampling rate and length of collection are described | 1 | Sampling rate + length of collection | |
| 0.5 | Only length of collection | |||
| 0 | Not reported | |||
| 13 | Acknowledgment of breathing (e.g., controlled or not controlled) | 1 | Reported | |
| 0 | Not reported | |||
| 14 | Description of how estimates or comparison measures were calculated (e.g., ES, LOA, Pearson's r, or ICC) | 1 | Reported | |
| 0 | Not reported | |||
| 15 | Reasons for missing data, along with percentage missing (e.g., equipment, persistent ectopy), and how it was handled | 1 | Reasons for missing data + percentage + handling | |
| 0.5 | Reported in some criteria <1P | |||
| 0 | Not reported | |||
| 16 | Interbeat artifact identification method (e.g., algorithm, manual inspection) | 1 | Manual inspection of artifacts | |
| 0.5 | Automatically without manual correction | |||
| 0 | Not reported | |||
| 17 | Artifact cleaning methods and percentage of beats corrected | 1 | Description Method (e.g., smoothing or decimation) and percentage | |
| 0.5 | Reported in some criteria <1P | |||
| 0 | Not reported. | |||
| 18 | Description of metrics used and software/script for HRV calculation (log transformation etc.) | 1 | Reported | |
| 0 | Not reported | |||
| 19 | Specification of frequency bands used and how they were calculated (e.g., Fast Fourier Transform or Autoregressive modeling) | 1 | Reported | |
| 0 | Not reported | |||
| 20 | Baseline demographics of participants | 1 | Reported | |
| 0 | Not reported | |||
| 21 | Results | Mean ± SD along with at least one estimates of precision (e.g., LOA, Pearson's r, or ICC) | 1 | p-values and effect size |
| 0.5 | Only p-values | |||
| 0 | Not reported | |||
| 22 | Discussion | Study limitations, (e.g., sources of potential bias, confounding variables, statistical uncertainty, and generalizability) | 1 | In detail (if necessary also as extra section) |
| 0.5 | Discussed, but not in detail | |||
| 0 | Not reported | |||
| 23 | Implications for practice, including the intended use | 1 | Detailed, giving practical recommendations (e.g., clientele, how often), extra section | |
| 0.5 | Discussed, but not in detail | |||
| 0 | No statement or simple statement “We have seen differences and suggest that” | |||
| 24 | Where the full study protocol can be accessed if not fully described | 1 | Reported | |
| 0 | Not reported | |||
| 25 | Other information | Sources of funding and other support; role of funders | 1 | Information about funding and conflict of interest |
| 0.5 | Funding, conflict of Interest or acknowledgment | |||
| 0 | Not reported |
BMI, body mass index.