Introduction: Increased parasympathetic drive in asthmatics is observed by many researchers. However, some have found increased sympathetic activity and others found it decreased. Material and Methods: A case-control study was planned including 30 asthmatic patients and 30 age-matched non-asthmatics as controls. Spirometry and autonomic functions were tested, and results of the mean difference were compared using the Student t-test. Results: Out of 30 asthmatics, 76% were in mild-to-moderate grade of asthma on the basis of their forced expiratory volume in the first second % values. Rise in diastolic blood pressure with cold pressor test was significantly less in asthmatics than controls (5.66 ± 3.415 and 11.73 ± 4.49 mmHg; P < 0.001). The mean Valsalva ratio in asthmatics was significantly less than in controls (1.158 ± 0.116 and 1.418 ± 0.645; P < 0.05). Galvanic skin resistance in asthmatics was significantly more than in controls (589.8 ± 268.12 and 328.75 ± 165.07; P < 0.001). Conclusion: Thus, from our study, there was increased parasympathetic and decreased sympathetic drive in patients with bronchial asthma as compared to controls.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.