Key result
Higher total fat mass was significantly associated with reduced heart rate variability, including a decrease in RMSSD (β = -0.558) and pNN50 (β = -0.178), indicating worsened cardiac autonomic function.
Why the study?
Understanding relationships between specific measures of adiposity and heart rate variability helps clarify obesity as a risk factor for cardiovascular and autonomic dysfunction.
Cross-Sectional (n=325)
No
Mean Difference: -0.558 (95% CI -0.941–-0.175)
p-value: p=0.004
Excess total and regional adiposity, particularly visceral fat, is associated with reduced heart rate variability in children and adolescents, suggesting early negative effects on cardiovascular autonomic function.
May signal early autonomic impairment from adiposity in children; hypothesis-generating and should not change practice without longitudinal data.
Understanding relationships between specific measures of adiposity and heart rate variability (HRV) allows for better understanding obesity as a risk factor for cardiovascular and autonomic dysfunction. We sought to examine associations between specific adiposity depots and cardiovascular autonomic function assessed via HRV among children and adolescents. We performed a secondary cross-sectional analysis of a previously completed study of 8-17-year-olds (n = 325; 12.4 ± 2.7 years). Adiposity was assessed via dual x-ray absorptiometry. Resting HRV measures included root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD), percentage of successive normal-to-normal intervals differing by more than 50 ms (pNN50), low frequency power (LF), high frequency power (HF), and low frequency-to-high frequency ratio (LF:HF). Associations between adiposity and HRV were evaluated using linear regression modeling, adjusting for sex and Tanner stage. RMSSD and pNN50 were both negatively associated with total fat (β = - 0.558, p = 0.004; β = - 0.178, p = 0.034), percent body fat (β = - 0.790, p = 0.007; β = - 0.296, p = 0.019), trunk fat (β = - 1.024, p = 0.004; β = - 0.344, p = 0.022), android fat (β = - 0.005, p = 0.006; β = - 0.002, p = 0.028), gynoid fat (β = - 0.003, p = 0.005; β = - 0.001, p = 0.034), visceral adipose tissue (β = - 0.013, p = 0.016; β = - 0.005, p = 0.038) and subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue (β = - 0.007, p = 0.004; β = - 0.003, p = 0.017). RMSSD was negatively associated with appendicular fat (β = - 1.152, p = 0.008). Visceral adipose tissue was associated positively with LF and LF: HF (β = 0.004, p = 0.028; β = 0.019, p = 0.033) and negatively with HF (β = - 0.004, p = 0.028). We found that excess total and regional adiposity may have negative effects on cardiovascular autonomic nervous system function in a large cohort of children and adolescents. Longitudinal studies are needed to confirm and determine how these relationships change over time.
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Juckett et al. (2025) conducted a cross-sectional in Obesity and Adiposity (n=325). Adiposity (total and regional fat mass) was evaluated on Association between total fat mass and root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD) (β = -0.558, 95% CI -0.941, -0.175, p=0.004). Higher total fat mass was significantly associated with reduced heart rate variability, including a decrease in RMSSD (β = -0.558) and pNN50 (β = -0.178), indicating worsened cardiac autonomic function.
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