Generalized anxiety disorder with comorbid major depression was associated with the greatest reductions in high-frequency heart rate variability (3.41 vs 5.48 ln[ms2]) compared to healthy controls.
Case-Control (n=140)
No
Does generalized anxiety disorder with or without comorbid major depression reduce heart rate variability compared to healthy controls?
Patients with generalized anxiety disorder and comorbid major depression exhibit the greatest reductions in heart rate variability, suggesting a higher cardiovascular risk profile that may warrant targeted risk reduction strategies.
Absolute Event Rate: 3.41% vs 5.48%
p-value: p=<0.001
OBJECTIVE: Decreased heart rate variability (HRV) has been reported in generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), but the results are mixed. Little is known about the impact of comorbid major depression (MD) on HRV in GAD patients. Both issues necessitate further investigation. METHODS: Twenty unmedicated, physically healthy GAD patients, 20 GAD patients with a secondary diagnosis of MD, 40 MD patients and 60 matched controls were recruited. We used the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale and the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale to assess anxiety and depression severity, respectively. Cardiac autonomic function was evaluated by measuring HRV parameters. Frequency-domain indices of HRV were obtained. RESULTS: Three patient groups had more anxiety and depression symptoms than control subjects, but heart rates (HRs) were significantly elevated only in GAD patients with comorbid depression. Relative to controls, GAD patients had reduced HRV while GAD patients with comorbid depression displayed the greatest reductions in HRV among three patients groups. Correlation analyses revealed anxiety/depression severity significantly associated with HRs, variance, LF-HRV and HF-HRV. However, separately analyzing among individual groups and adjusting for HRV-associated covariables rendered the correlations non-significant. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that reduction in HRV is a psychophysiological marker of GAD and individuals with comorbid GAD and MD may be distinguished based on psychophysiological correlates (for example, HF-HRV) from non-comorbid GAD patients. Taken into account that comorbid depression may confer increased risks for cardiovascular events in GAD patients, this subgroup of GAD patients may benefit better from cardiovascular risk reduction strategies.
Chang et al. (Tue,) conducted a case-control in Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Major Depression (n=140). Generalized Anxiety Disorder with comorbid Major Depression vs. Healthy controls was evaluated on High frequency (HF) heart rate variability (ln[ms2]) (p=<0.001). Generalized anxiety disorder with comorbid major depression was associated with the greatest reductions in high-frequency heart rate variability (3.41 vs 5.48 ln[ms2]) compared to healthy controls.