Overweight and dysregulation of the autonomic nervous system in young persons

Abstract

Background. More than 1 billion people worldwide are obese, and this number is growing. Obesity at an early age is accompanied by impaired carbohydrate tolerance and the development of type 2 diabetes, lipid metabolism pathology, obstructive apnea, hypercoagulability, chronic inflammation and the development of insulin resistance in the future. In modern literature, there is no single point of view regarding the role of the autonomic nervous system in the coordination of hormonal, nervous and metabolic factors in the body.Aim. The article presents the results of studying the functional state of the sympathetic and parasympathetic parts of the autonomic nervous system in overweight persons and presents an assessment of the central hemodynamic parameter depending on the type of autonomic reactivity of the cardiovascular system.Methods. The study involved measuring systolic and diastolic blood pressure, heart rate, and anthropometric measurements for calculating the corresponding indices. An active orthostatic test to determine the functional state of reflex mechanisms for regulating hemodynamics. Statistical methods were used for data analysis.Results. Based on anthropometric indicators and calculated indices, boys and girls with overweight differed from the control group in abdominal and total distribution of fat. However, there were no differences in terms of vegetative tone (sympathicotonic, vagotonic, eutonic). The distribution of eutonic and vagotonic types of the autonomic nervous system and sympathicotonia was similar in both groups. Most overweight individuals had insufficient reactivity of the parasympathetic autonomic nervous system. Paradoxical reactivity in both groups was observed with the same frequency. In the group of people with paradoxical autonomic reactivity among overweight people, a significantly lower increase in heart rate was found than in the control group. In persons with overweight and increased autonomic reactivity, minute blood volume and pulse pressure increased 1.5-fold, there was a tendency to increase stroke volume and inotropic function of the heart. The increase in this characteristic indicated a hyperkinetic type of hemodynamics in overweight persons in the group with normal autonomic reactivity. In groups with paradoxical and increased autonomic reactivity of the cardiovascular system, a normokinetic type of hemodynamics was observed.Conclusions. Signs of altered autonomic reactivity found in most overweight individuals indicate dysfunction of the parasympathetic autonomic nervous system and possible dysfunction of nonspecific regulatory (limbic-reticular) parts of the brain.