Young adults with high adverse childhood experiences exhibited a blunted heart rate response to a cold face test compared to those with low exposure (2 vs -6 bpm; P=0.003).
Observational (n=17)
Do high adverse childhood experiences alter autonomic regulation of heart rate and blood pressure responses to a cold face test in healthy young adults?
Young adults with high adverse childhood experiences exhibit a blunted heart rate response to a cold face test, indicating early signs of autonomic dysfunction.
Absolute Event Rate: 2% vs -6%
p-value: p=0.003
Autonomic dysfunction is a risk factor for the pathogenesis of arrhythmias, which are implicated in cardiovascular disease (CVD) development. Evidence suggests that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with states of hypo- or hyperreactive heart rate (HR) and blood pressure (BP) responses to various physiological stressors. Previous studies which used mental arithmetic, social stressors and head-up-tilt (HUT) tests to investigate parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) activity, showed blunted HR reactivity in those with ACEs. Therefore, this study investigated the effect of ACEs on autonomic regulation of HR and BP responses to a cold face test. It was hypothesized that healthy young adults with high exposure to ACEs would have blunted HR, BP, and heart rate variability (HRV) compared to those with low ACEs. Data were collected and analyzed on 17 healthy young adults (11 females, 22 ± 3 years). ACEs were assessed (Childhood Trust Events Survey 2.0) and participants were dichotomized comparing those with high ACEs (≥ 4, n = 6; mean = 5 ± 2) to low ACEs (< 4, n = 11; mean = 1 ± 1). HR (ECG) and mean arterial pressure (MAP; Finometer) were measured during a 5-minute baseline and a 3-minute cold face test (0°C ice mask). HRV was quantified by the percentage of successive normal sinus intervals that differ by more than 50ms (PNN50) to indirectly measure cardiac PNS activity. Data are reported as change values from baseline (mean ± SD) using a two-way repeated measures ANOVA (ACE x Time) to assess differences between group responses to the cold face test. The high ACEs group demonstrated an attenuated reduction in HR from baseline during the cold face test (ACE x Time interaction, P = 0.03), such that at minute 2 there was a significantly different response between high and low ACEs (High ACEs: 2 ± 4bpm vs. Low ACEs: -6 ± 6bpm, P = 0.003). PNN50 demonstrated a trend towards a smaller change over time in the high ACEs compared to the low ACEs group (High ACEs: 7 ± 5% vs. Low ACEs: 16 ± 12%, ACE effect: P = 0.075). Lastly, the MAP response to the cold face test was not different between ACEs groups (High ACEs: 6 ± 5mmHg vs. Low ACEs: 10 ± 7mmHg, ACE effect: P = 0.307). These findings suggest that despite similar BP responses to a cold face test, young adults with high ACEs exhibit a blunted HR response, indicating early signs of autonomic dysfunction, which may contribute to an elevated risk of arrhythmia and CVD later in life. This study was supported by funding from the Brock University Advancement – Fund Explore Program. This abstract was presented at the American Physiology Summit 2026 and is only available in HTML format. There is no downloadable file or PDF version. The Physiology editorial board was not involved in the peer review process.
Melnitchenko et al. (Fri,) conducted a observational in Healthy young adults (n=17). High adverse childhood experiences (≥ 4) vs. Low adverse childhood experiences (< 4) was evaluated on Change in heart rate from baseline at minute 2 of the cold face test (p=0.003). Young adults with high adverse childhood experiences exhibited a blunted heart rate response to a cold face test compared to those with low exposure (2 vs -6 bpm; P=0.003).