[The influence of aging on autonomic nervous system activity and gastric myoelectric activity in humans]

The study was performed on 84 healthy volunteers (33 women, 52 men) of age 20-71 years with no history of the circulatory or gastrointestinal system disease. The gastric myoelectrical activity (EGG) was recorded with the cutaneous electrodes--electrogastrography Synectics (Sweden). The activity of the cardiac autonomic nervous system was measured by HRV (heart rate variability) recorded with EGG and computer assisted programme Proster (Poland). Subject were divided into 5 groups according to the decade of age (20-70). Percentage of basal electrical rhythm (BER) dysrhythmias increased (1.9 +/- 0.5% vs 21.1 +/- 3.2% in fasting and 2.4 +/- 1.2% vs 24.6 +/- 5% postprandially but decrease of the EGG amplitude after the meal was observed (270 +/- 20% vs 90 +/- 7%) in youngest and oldest group respectively. With the ageing the cardiac sympathetic and parasympathetic activity (LF and HF) decreased in first and last group respectively. In the forth decade in man and women the sympathetic activity system prevalence expressed by the LF/HF rate increased (1.09 +/- 0.2 vs. 2.14 +/- 0.5) (p < 0.05). The results of our study suggest the deleterious influence of the ageing on the of autonomic system activity as shown by changes in HRV and dysrhythmia of the gastric slow waves in EGG.