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Autonomic Changes Associated with Clinical Depression as Assessed by Short-term Heart Rate Variability (HRV): A
Vijayabaskaran Shanmugavaradharajan1, Richu Ravikumar2, Raghav B3
1Dept. of Physiology, PSG Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India.
Insights
Depression is linked to reduced cardiovagal activity, as measured by heart rate variability (HRV). This study assessed autonomic changes in depressed individuals, finding lower cardiovagal tone in those with depression.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Psychiatry
- Autonomic Nervous System
Background:
- Mental health issues, particularly depression, pose a global health challenge.
- Depression is a recognized cardiovascular risk factor, potentially linked to autonomic dysfunction.
- Existing literature on depression and cardiac autonomic regulation is limited and inconclusive.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate autonomic changes in clinically depressed individuals.
- To clarify the relationship between depression and cardiac autonomic attenuation using heart rate variability (HRV).
Main Methods:
- Recruited 82 participants (41 depressed, 41 healthy controls) from an outpatient department.
- Assessed autonomic function using short-term heart rate variability (HRV) measurements.
- Correlated HRV parameters with Hamilton Depression Rating Scale scores in depressed individuals.
Main Results:
- Depressed individuals exhibited significantly reduced cardiovagal activity (p = .026).
- No significant gender-based differences in autonomic activity were observed among depressed individuals.
- No significant correlation was found between Hamilton scores and HRV parameters.
Conclusions:
- Clinically depressed individuals demonstrate diminished cardiovagal activity.
- HRV is a valuable tool for assessing autonomic changes in depression.
Background:
In the present scenario, mental health issues have become a global burden. Among all the mental disorders, depression is one of the most disabling and has been a known cardiovascular risk. Autonomic attenuation is put forth as the cause. The literature available on the connection between clinical depression and cardiac autonomic attenuation is limited and inconclusive. Hence, to provide more clarity, with the aid of short-term heart rate variability (HRV), autonomic changes in clinically depressed individuals were assessed.
Methods:
Based on the set criteria, we recruited 82 subjects from the hospital's outpatient department after ethical approval. Among them, 41 were depressed individuals, and the rest were non-depressed healthy controls. Depressed individuals were categorized based on their Hamilton scores. Both the groups were subjected to short-term HRV, the measures obtained were compared, and the HRV measures of the depressed individuals were correlated with their Hamilton scores.
Results:
HRV measures that reflect cardiovagal activity were found to be significantly less (p = .026) in the depressed individuals. No gender-influenced differences were observed among the depressed. Groups with different levels of depression also revealed no significant differences in their autonomic activity. Hamilton scores of the depressed individuals exhibited no significant correlation with their HRV parameters.
Conclusion:
Based on our HRV findings, we conclude that the depressed individuals have reduced cardiovagal activity.
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