Year: 2023 | Month: September | Volume: 10 | Issue: 9 | Pages: 342-348
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52403/ijrr.20230935
Comparative Study of Heart Rate Variability in Patients with Major Depressive Disorder and Normal Subjects
Dr Gazala Yaqoob1, Dr Ovais Karnain2, Dr Sheikh Imran Sayeed3, Dr Arshad Hussain4, Dr Samia Rashid5
1,2Seniors Resident, Department of Physiology, GMC, Srinagar
3Professor and Head, Department of Physiology, GMC, Srinagar
4Professor, Department of Psychiatry, GMC, Srinagar
5Professor, Department of Medicine, GMC, Srinagar
Corresponding Author: Dr Ovais Karnain
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Major Depressive Disorder is a mood disorder diagnosed on the basis of DSM-5 criteria. Cardiovascular disorders are among the most common causes of deaths worldwide, accounting for about one-third of the mortality in both genders. Cardiac illnesses seem to have a bidirectional relationship with depression. Altered cardiac autonomic tone remains one of the most plausible explanations, which also appears to be a central biological substrate linking depression to a number of concurrent physical (e.g., cardiovascular) dysfunctions. Heart Rate Variability has become the conventionally accepted term to describe variations of both instantaneous heart rate and RR intervals (measured in ms) obtained from ECG or plethysmogram.
Material and Method: This study was a prospective observational study involved 150 individuals divided into two groups. Group A – Patients having first episode major depression or new recurrent depressive episode recruited from psychiatric OPD (n=75), Group B– Age, Sex, Height and Weight matched healthy controls (n=75).
Results: In our study, among the time domain indices, Mean heart rate was increased in MDD patients in comparison to healthy controls and the difference was statistically significant. Root mean square of successive differences was reduced in MDD patients in comparison to healthy controls and the difference was statistically significant. Standard deviation of NN intervals and percentage of NN intervals differing by >50 ms also showed reduction in depressed patients than controls, but the difference was not statistically significant. The frequency domain indices Total power, very low frequency, High frequency were reduced in MDD patients in comparison to healthy controls and the difference was statistically significant. Low Frequency and Low Frequency / High Frequency ratio were increased in patients of MDD in comparison to healthy controls and the difference was statistically significant.
Conclusion: From our study we can conclude that HRV is reduced in MDD patients. We suggest that HRV parameters can be used as diagnostic or predictive biomarkers of depression.
Keywords: Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), cardiovascular disease (CVD), Heart Rate Variability (HRV), Time Domain Indices, Frequency Domain Indices.
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