Analysis of cardiac autonomic modulation in obese and eutrophic children

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Obesity causes alterations in cardiac autonomic function. However, there are scarce and conflicting data on this function with regard to heart rate variability in obese children. OBJECTIVE:To compare the autonomic function of obese and eutrophic children by analyzing heart rate variability. METHODS:One hundred twenty-one children (57 male and 64 female) aged 8 to 12 years were distributed into two groups based on nutritional status [obese (n = 56) and eutrophic (ideal weight range; n = 65) according to the body mass index reference for gender and age]. For the analysis of heart rate variability, heart rates were recorded beat by beat as the children rested in the dorsal (prone) position for 20 minutes. Heart rate variability analysis was carried out using linear approaches in the domains of frequency and time. Either Student's t-test or the Mann-Whitney Utest was applied to compare variables between groups. Statistical significance was set at 5%. RESULTS:The SDNN, RMSSD, pNN50, SD1, SD2, LF and HF indices in milliseconds squared were lower among the obese children when compared to the eutrophic group. There were no alterations in the SD1/SD2 ratio, LF/HF ratio, LF index or HF index in normalized units. There was a significant difference between groups in the RR interval (R-to-R EKG interval). CONCLUSION:The obese children exhibited modifications in heart rate variability, characterized by a reduction in both sympathetic and parasympathetic activity. These findings stress the need for the early holistic care of obese children to avoid future complications.

Autonomic nervous system balance in children and adolescents with craniopharyngioma and hypothalamic obesity

“…Similar relationships are described in the literature on childhood obesity, with lower HF power on HRV analysis (a parasympathetic marker) in obese children compared with normal-weight children (32,33). A positive correlation between the degree of obesity and the HRV sympathetic markers is found only in the CRHO group.…”

Cardiac Autonomic Function at Baseline and under Stress and Its Relationship to Circulatory Markers of Inflammation in Obese Compared to Nonobese Children: A Pilot Study

“…To first address the autonomic testing, in a well-characterized cohort, we detected no ANS difference between obese and nonobese children. A review of published studies regarding HRV in childhood obesity indicates that the most common findings include increased SNS and decreased PNS tone; however, there is considerable variability in HRV results, study quality, and methodology [9,15,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36]. In previous pediatric studies using similar HRV measures, the most common finding was decreased HF (natural log, raw, or normalized units) and increased LF:HF, and the interpretation of findings in these studies varies widely [9,15,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36].…”

Teste De Caminhada De Seis Minutos: Desempenho De Crianças Com Excesso De Peso

“…27 As crianças obesas apresentam modificações na variabilidade da frequência cardíaca, caracterizada por redução da atividade simpática e parassimpática. 28 Na presente amostra, não existiram diferenças entre os grupos eutróficos, com sobrepeso e obeso quanto à distância percorrida e percentual do predito, em ambos os critérios de classificação nutricional.…”