Major depression was associated with reduced cardiac vagal control compared to healthy volunteers, with more pronounced withdrawal in patients with suicide ideation.
Case-Control (n=960)
Is major depression associated with altered cardiac autonomic function compared to healthy volunteers?
Unmedicated major depression is associated with reduced cardiac vagal control, which is further exacerbated by depression severity and suicidal ideation, suggesting a mechanism for increased cardiac risk in this population.
Chang H-A, Chang C-C, Chen C-L, Kuo TBJ, Lu R-B, Huang S-Y. Major depression is associated with cardiac autonomic dysregulation. Objective: Altered cardiac autonomic function has been proposed in patients with major depression (MD), but the results are mixed. Therefore, analyses with larger sample sizes and better methodology are needed. Methods: To examine whether cardiac autonomic dysfunction is associated with MD, 498 unmedicated patients with MD and 462 healthy volunteers, aged 18–65 years, were recruited for a case-control analysis. We used the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) to assess depression severity. Cardiac autonomic function was evaluated by measuring heart rate variability (HRV) parameters. Frequency-domain indices of HRV were obtained. Results: Patients with MD exhibited reduced cardiac vagal control compared to healthy volunteers, and depression severity was negatively correlated with cardiac vagal control. Stratified analyses by suicide ideation revealed more pronounced cardiac vagal withdrawal among MD patients with suicide ideation. Conclusion: This study shows that MD is associated with cardiac autonomic dysregulation, highlighting the importance of assessing HRV in currently depressed patients, given the higher risk for cardiac complications in these individuals. Taking into account that suicidal depressed patients had more adverse patterns of HRV, one might consider the treatment to restore the autonomic function for the patient population having increased susceptibility to autonomic dysregulation.
Chang et al. (Tue,) conducted a case-control in Major depression (n=960). Major depression vs. Healthy volunteers was evaluated on Cardiac autonomic function (heart rate variability parameters). Major depression was associated with reduced cardiac vagal control compared to healthy volunteers, with more pronounced withdrawal in patients with suicide ideation.