In:
Zeitschrift für Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie und Psychotherapie, Hogrefe Publishing Group, Vol. 47, No. 3 ( 2019-05-01), p. 253-260
Abstract:
Abstract. Introduction: Researchers have repeatedly discovered an association between depression and autonomic cardiac dysregulation in adults. However, corresponding data concerning minors are still rare. Method: For this exploratory, cross-sectional study, we included N = 43 minors (age range 9–17 years). The subjects were depressive subjects with or without antidepressant medication (N = 23) or healthy control children (HC) (N = 20). We assessed several indices of cardiac functioning using long-term electrocardiogram data (mean heart rate, HR, and several parameters of heart rate variability, HRV). We hypothesized that increased HR and reduced HRV are associated with depressive disorders. Furthermore, we assessed the impact of age, sex, and antidepressant medication on HR and HRV. Results: When sex and age were controlled for, HR was significantly increased in depressive minors compared to HC. However, our preliminary data suggest that this might not be the case in medicated patients, and there were no differences between groups regarding HRV parameters. There was no significant correlation in the whole sample between severity of depression and both HR and HRV. In the subsample of patients with depression, antidepressant medication was associated with lower HR and higher indices of HRV. Conclusion: The data indicate an association between depression and altered autonomic cardiac regulation, which can already manifests in minors.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
1422-4917
,
1664-2880
DOI:
10.1024/1422-4917/a000672
Language:
German
Publisher:
Hogrefe Publishing Group
Publication Date:
2019
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2083294-1
SSG:
2,1
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