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Heart rate variability in school-age children born moderate-to-late preterm
Fabianne M N A Dantas1, Paulo A F Magalhães2, Emilly C N Hora3
1Research Group of Neonatal and Pediatric Physical Therapy, Baby GrUPE, Universidade de Pernambuco, Petrolina, Pernambuco, Brazil; Department of Physical Therapy, Universidade de Pernambuco, Pernambuco, Brazil.
Insights
Children born moderately to late preterm (MLPT) show similar heart rate variability (HRV) in school age compared to full-term peers. This suggests autonomic system plasticity or less impairment in MLPT children.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Cardiology
- Autonomic Neuroscience
Background:
- Prematurity is linked to diminished cardiac autonomic function.
- Moderate-to-late preterm birth (MLPT) may impact long-term cardiovascular health.
- Investigating heart rate variability (HRV) in MLPT children is crucial for understanding autonomic development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess heart rate variability (HRV) in school-aged children born moderately to late preterm (MLPT).
- To compare cardiac autonomic function between MLPT children and those born at term.
- To explore potential long-term effects of preterm birth on the autonomic nervous system.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional study of school-aged children (5-10 years).
- Electrocardiogram (ECG) recordings for 15 minutes.
- Analysis of time and frequency domain HRV parameters, corrected for heart rate.
Main Results:
- 119 children (123 evaluated) included in the analysis.
- No significant differences in HRV time and frequency domain parameters were found between MLPT and term-born children.
- Specific indices of parasympathetic activity (RMSSD, pNN50%, HF) were comparable between groups.
Conclusions:
- School-aged children born MLPT do not exhibit differences in HRV compared to term-born peers.
- This suggests significant plasticity in cardiac autonomic modulation continues into school age.
- Findings may indicate less autonomic system impairment in MLPT individuals than previously thought.
Background:
Prematurity is associated with reduced cardiac autonomic function. This study aimed to investigate the heart rate variability (HRV) in school-age children born moderately to late preterm (MLPT).
Methods:
This cross-sectional study investigated school-age children, aged 5 to 10 years, born moderate-to-late preterm. Electrocardiograms recordings were performed during fifteen-minutes. Time and frequency domain parameters were calculated, corrected for heart rate and compared between the groups.
Results:
A total of 123 children were evaluated and 119 were included in this study. HRV measures, studied in the time and frequency domains, were similar in both groups. Corrected values of root mean square of successive differences between normal cycles (RMSSD), percentage of successive cycles with a duration difference >50 ms (pNN50%), and high frequency (HF), indices that predominantly represent the parasympathetic activity of the autonomic nervous system, were 1.6E-7 and 1.8E-7 (p=0.226); 1.6E-13 and 1.6E-13 (p=0.506); 6.9E-12 and 7.4E-12 (p=0.968) in the preterm and control groups, respectively.
Conclusion:
This study did not find differences in heart rate variability between school-age children born MLPT and those born at term, suggesting that plasticity of cardiac autonomic modulation continues to occur in children up to school age or there is less impairment of the autonomic system in MLPT.
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