Does length of time since diagnosis in Parkinson’s disease influence heart rate variability? A cross-sectional study

• Published in: Arquivos de neuro-psiquiatria Vol. 80; no. 6; pp. 593 - 600
• Main Authors: Stoco-Oliveira, Mileide Cristina, Valente, Heloisa Balotari, Vanzella, Laís Manata, André, Larissa Borba, Rodrigues, Mariana Viana, Vanderlei, Franciele Marques, Carvalho, Augusto Cesinando de, Vanderlei, Luiz Carlos Marques
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Rua do Matoso 170, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, CEP 20270-135, Brazil Thieme Revinter Publicações Ltda 01-06-2022; Arquivos de Neuro-Psiquiatria; Academia Brasileira de Neurologia - ABNEURO; Academia Brasileira de Neurologia (ABNEURO)
• Subjects: Autonomic nervous system; Autonomic Nervous System - physiology; Autonomic Nervous System Diseases; Coronary artery disease; Cross-Sectional Studies; Diagnosis; Exercise - physiology; Heart diseases; Heart rate; Heart Rate - physiology; Humans; Movement disorders; Neurodegenerative Diseases; NEUROSCIENCES; Parasympathetic nervous system; Parkinson Disease; Parkinson's disease; Population studies; PSYCHIATRY; Parkinson Disease; Doença de Parkinson; Doenças do Sistema Nervoso Autônomo; Neurodegenerative Diseases; Doenças Neurodegenerativas; Autonomic Nervous System Diseases
• ISSN: 0004-282X; 1678-4227; 1678-4227
• DOI: 10.1590/0004-282X-ANP-2021-0153

ABSTRACT
Background:
 Intrinsic changes in Parkinson's disease (PD) affect the autonomic nervous system, and the disease course can aggravate the initial condition. Although the impact of time since disease onset on autonomic modulation has already been studied in other populations, this has not yet been investigated in PD.
Objective:
 To investigate the impact of the length of time since diagnosis on the cardiac autonomic modulation of individuals with PD and compare with healthy individuals.
Methods:
 Fifty participants were divided into three groups: a control group (CG; n = 24) and two groups with PD, divided according to the median length of time since diagnosis (median = 5.5 years): below the median (PG1; n = 13) and above the median (PG2; n = 13). To evaluate cardiac autonomic modulation, heart rate was obtained beat-to-beat in the supine position over a 30-min period, and heart rate variability (HRV) indices were calculated using linear methods in the time and frequency domains.
Results:
 There were no significant differences in HRV indices between the PG groups, or between the three groups regarding Mean RR, LFun, HFun and LF/HF ratio. Significant reductions in the RMSSD, SDNN, pNN50, LFms
2
and HFms
2
indices were observed in PG1 and PG2, compared with CG.
Conclusions:
 The cardiac autonomic modulation of individuals with PD was not influenced by the time since diagnosis. However, reduced parasympathetic and global modulation were observed in these individuals, compared with controls. These results emphasize the importance of aerobic exercise for improving autonomic modulation among individuals with PD.