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Detrended fluctuation analysis of laser Doppler flowmetry time series
Ferhan Esen1, Gülsün Sönmez Aydin, Hamza Esen
1Department of Biophysics, Faculty of Medicine, Eskişehir Osmangazi University, 26480 Eskişehir, Turkey. hesen@ogu.edu.tr
Microvascular Research
|August 8, 2009
Summary
Detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA) reveals that strenuous activity in basketball players may impair microvascular function, indicated by altered blood flow patterns. This suggests potential endothelial dysfunction, highlighting DFA
Area of Science:
- Physiology
- Cardiovascular Research
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Microvascular dysfunction is linked to various health issues.
- Laser Doppler flow (LDF) measures skin blood flow.
- Detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA) quantifies long-range correlations in time series data.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate changes in microvascular function due to strenuous activity using DFA.
- To compare microvascular responses in basketball players versus sedentary controls.
- To identify specific scaling exponents related to physiological factors.
Main Methods:
- Forearm skin blood flow was measured using LDF at rest and during local heating.
- DFA was applied to LDF time series to calculate scaling exponents (alpha).
- Analysis compared resting and heated conditions between athletes and controls.
Main Results:
- Sedentary controls showed a stable scaling exponent (alpha ≈ 1.01) regardless of heating.
- Basketball players exhibited a broken line with two scaling exponents at rest (alpha(1) ≈ 1.06, alpha(2) ≈ 0.75).
- Local heating normalized the scaling exponent in basketball players (alpha(T) ≈ 0.94).
Conclusions:
- Reduced long-range correlations (alpha < 1) in basketball players suggest impaired microvascular regulation and potential endothelial dysfunction.
- DFA offers a superior method for assessing microvascular function from baseline LDF signals compared to amplitude-based methods.
- The findings indicate that prolonged strenuous activity may negatively impact microvascular health.
