The reliable and valid assessment of heart rate variability (HRV) is important to understanding autonomic functioning in youth. However, use of electrocardiogram (ECG) signals to derive estimates of parasympathetic-mediated HRV may present logistical barriers in applied settings. Thus, this study investigated the concordance between high-frequency HRV [HF-HRV] and root mean square of successive differences [RMSSD] derived from ECG and photoplethysmography (PPG) signals during a video baseline, resting baseline, and mental arithmetic among an ethnically diverse sample of ninety-six youths (M_age = 13.84; 51% male; 62.5% ethnic minority). Results showed moderate to almost perfect agreement between PPG- and ECG- derived HF-HRV and RMSSD for video and resting baselines (Lin's correlations ranged from 0.93 to 0.99) and limits of agreement (LoA) ranging from −0.48 to 0.58 (HF-HRV) and − 11.37 to 9.32 (RMSSD). Conversely, we found poor to moderate agreement for the mental arithmetic task (Lin's correlations ranged from 0.88 to 0.91) and LoA ranging from −0.68 + 0.94 (HF-HRV) and − 17.58 + 20.69 (RMSSD), though we did find ethnic minority youth had higher and moderate Lin's correlations (0.93 to 0.94). Overall, there was a bias towards higher HF-HRV and RMSSD values with PPG. Findings suggest that PPG-derived HF-HRV and RMSSD may be viable alternatives for ECG in baseline conditions, but tasks requiring movement or eliciting mild stress responses may result in less than perfect values and missing data patterns. It is imperative that future studies replicate these findings in other ethnically diverse youth samples and expand to younger children and applied settings.

心率变异性 (HRV) 的可靠和有效评估对于了解青年的自主神经功能非常重要。然而，使用心电图 (ECG) 信号来估计副交感神经介导的 HRV 可能会在应用环境中存在后勤障碍。因此，本研究调查了在视频基线、静息基线和心算期间，高频 HRV [HF-HRV] 与连续差异均方根 [RMSSD] 之间的一致性96 名青年的不同样本（M_年龄 = 13.84；51% 男性；62.5% 少数民族）。结果显示，PPG 和 ECG 衍生的 HF-HRV 和 RMSSD 之间在视频和静息基线（Lin 的相关性范围为 0.93 至 0.99）之间具有中等至几乎完全一致的一致性，并且一致性范围 (LoA) 范围为 -0.48 至 0.58（HF-HRV） ) 和 − 11.37 到 9.32 (RMSSD)。相反，我们发现心算任务的一致性差到中等（Lin 的相关性范围为 0.88 到 0.91），LoA 范围为 -0.68 + 0.94 (HF-HRV) 和 - 17.58 + 20.69 (RMSSD)，尽管我们确实发现了少数民族青年具有较高和中等的 Lin 相关性（0.93 至 0.94）。总体而言，PPG 偏向于更高的 HF-HRV 和 RMSSD 值。研究结果表明，PPG 衍生的 HF-HRV 和 RMSSD 可能是基线条件下 ECG 的可行替代方案，但是需要运动或引起轻度压力反应的任务可能会导致不完美的值和丢失数据模式。未来的研究必须在其他种族多样化的青年样本中复制这些发现，并扩展到年幼的儿童和应用环境。