Moderate alcohol intake is related to increased heart rate variability in young adults: Implications for health and well‐being

Abstract

Epidemiological literature indicates that the relationship between alcohol consumption and health outcomes reflects a J-shaped curve such that moderate alcohol consumption confers a protective effect in comparison to abstinence, while heavy consumption is associated with poorer health. While heart rate variability (HRV) may underpin the relationship between drinking and poor health in heavy drinkers, it is unclear whether HRV is increased in moderate, habitual drinkers relative to nonhabitual drinkers. HRV and drinking habits were assessed in 47 volunteers. Results supported hypotheses suggesting that moderate, habitual drinking increases HRV. Although not supported by a significant interaction between drinking group and sex, planned follow-up analysis also revealed that these findings may be specific to males. Regardless, results highlight HRV as a candidate mechanism for the findings reported in the epidemiological literature.

Cardiac Reactivity During the Ascending Phase of Acute Intravenous Alcohol Exposure and Association with Subjective Perceptions of Intoxication in Social Drinkers

“…It is possible that the difference between the findings of the current study and previous studies is due to the use of the IV route of administration in the current study, which provides a rapid controlled increase in systemic exposure to the target level (50 mg%), which may have activated parasympathetic mechanisms resulting in increased HRV. Additionally, the findings of this study are consistent with a recent study demonstrating increased HRV in moderate drinkers compared to abstainers (Quintana et al, 2013b). Another recent review indicates that use of alcohol approximating 1 to 2 standard drinks is associated with increased HRV compared with abstention or less frequent use (Karypak, 2013).…”

Major depressive disorder with melancholia displays robust alterations in resting state heart rate and its variability: implications for future morbidity and mortality

“…It is also important to acknowledge some limitations of our study. There are potential confounding factors that we did not control for here including physical activity (Rennie et al, 2003; Soares-Miranda et al, 2014), smoking status (Sjoberg and Saint, 2011; Harte and Meston, 2014), alcohol use (Quintana et al, 2013a,b), body mass index (Britton et al, 2007; Koenig et al, 2014), and biomarkers including fasting glucose (Stein et al, 2007) and cholesterol (Britton et al, 2007; Thayer and Fischer, 2013), all of which may impact on heart rate parameters. We refer interested readers to a recent review of the various issues that researchers should consider when collecting measures of HRV (Quintana and Heathers, 2014).…”

Considerations in the assessment of heart rate variability in biobehavioral research

“…Cardioactive medication use, including some antidepressant classes (e.g., tricyclics; Kemp et al, 2010), some antipsychotic classes (e.g., clozapine; Cohen et al, 2001), benzodiazepines (Agelink et al, 2002), and antihypertensives (Schroeder et al, 2003) are also usually accounted for, although this may be somewhat difficult in practice when testing patient populations. Other factors that are usually accounted for include the time of day (Massin et al, 2000; van Eekelen et al, 2004), levels of habitual alcohol use (Quintana et al, 2013a,b), physical activity levels (Britton et al, 2007; Soares-Miranda et al, 2014), and age (O’Brien et al, 1986). Digestion of food and water are less commonly accounted for in HRV research, but both provoke a coordinated autonomic response.…”