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Decreased cardiac vagal control in drug‐naive patients with panic disorder: A case‐control study in T aiwan
Author(s) -
Chang HsinAn,
Chang ChuanChia,
Tzeng NianSheng,
Kuo Terry B. J.,
Lu RuBand,
Huang SanYuan
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
asia‐pacific psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.654
H-Index - 21
eISSN - 1758-5872
pISSN - 1758-5864
DOI - 10.1111/appy.12032
Subject(s) - heart rate variability , medicine , panic disorder , anxiety , panic , autonomic nervous system , serotonergic , vagal tone , gastroenterology , heart rate , endocrinology , cardiology , serotonin , psychiatry , blood pressure , receptor
Cardiac autonomic dysregulation has been proposed in panic disorder ( PD ), but the results are mixed. Analyses with larger sample sizes and better methodology are needed. Methods Forty‐eight drug‐naïve individuals with PD and 202 healthy volunteers were recruited for a case‐control analysis. We used the H amilton A nxiety R ating S cale and the B eck A nxiety I nventory to assess anxiety severity. Cardiac autonomic function was evaluated by measuring heart rate variability ( HRV ) parameters. Frequency‐domain indices of HRV were obtained. The obtained results were evaluated in association with personality traits assessed by the T ridimensional P ersonality Q uestionnaire. Results Patients exhibited reduced mean RR interval (816.94 ± 135.92 versus 873.47 ± 143.36 ms, P = 0.014) and HRV levels ( V ar 6.37 ± 1.32 versus 7.38 ± 0.95, LF 4.90 ± 1.63 versus5.82 ± 1.11 and HF 4.57 ± 1.53 versus 5.62 ± 1.24 [ln(ms2)], all P < 0.001) as compared to controls, which mainly suggested a reduction in cardiac vagal control in PD . The anxiety severity was negatively correlated with HRV levels (r = −0.29 for V ar, r = −0.22 for LF and r = −0.28 for HF , all P < 0.001). The harm avoidance score (which has been suggested to be associated with serotonergic activity) was associated with decreased HRV levels (r = −0.22 for V ar, P < 0.01, r = −0.14 for LF , P < 0.05 and r = −0.17 for HF , P < 0.01). Discussion This study demonstrates that PD is associated with cardiac autonomic dysregulation, highlighting the importance of assessing HRV in PD patients.