Comment on Lecca, L.I.; Portoghese, I.; Mucci, N.; Galletta, M.; Meloni, F.; Pilia, I.; Marcias, G.; Fabbri, D.; Fostinelli, J.; Lucchini, R.G.; Cocco, P.; Campagna, M. Association between Work-Related Stress and QT Prolongation in Male Workers. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16, 4781

Abstract

Lecca et al., in a recent publication in the Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health had made some mistakes in the statistical analysis and interpretation of the results. Age was not a clear contributing factor in the prolongation of QT interval in the electrocardiogram (ECG), as there were strong confounders in their study. The effects of age were mainly faded out because of the age range of the participants. The use of Pearson's correlation is questionable because of the normality assumptions was not met on the studied variables. They also made some conclusions about the effects of long and night shifts on the QT prolongation that were not appropriate based on their study type. All of these mentioned issues might completely change the validity of the conclusions they made.