No relationship between generalised anxiety symptoms and cardiovascular autonomic dysfunction

Abstract

PurposePatients with generalised anxiety symptoms generally complain of autonomic arousal symptoms. The present study examined the relationships between cardiovascular autonomic dysfunction and generalised anxiety symptoms. MethodsFifty-five participants including patients with generalised anxiety symptoms (n = 32) and healthy volunteers who served as controls (n = 23) were selected for this study. All participants completed the 7-item Generalised Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) questionnaire and underwent autonomic function tests, including the Ewing test battery and heart rate variability (HRV) test. ResultsAutonomic function parameters included low frequency (LF, 0.04–0.15 Hz) power of HRV, high frequency (HF, 0.15–0.4 Hz) power, power spectrum density (PSD), LF/HF ratio, 30:15 ratio, heart rate response to deep breathing, Valsalva ratio, root-mean square differences of successive R-R intervals (RMSSD), standard deviation of the NN interval (SDNN), stress index (SI) and the Alpha 1 index. There were no significant differences in these parameters between the participants with generalised anxiety symptoms and control participants. ConclusionsThe result of this study suggests that there is no statistically significant relationship between generalised anxiety symptoms and cardiovascular autonomic dysfunction.