Home|Journals|Articles by Year|Audio Abstracts
 

Original Research



A study to access impairment of autonomic nervous system in obesity

Naushi Mujeeb.




Abstract

Background: Obesity which is itself a significant health hazard is also associated with dysfunctioning of autonomic nervous system (ANS).

Aims and Objective: This study was conducted to assess autonomic dysfunction in obese and compare it with age-matched controls.

Materials and Methods: The study group consisted of 55 healthy obese people (median 35 ± 6.0 years of age) and the control group consisted of 55 healthy non-obese people (median 31 ± 5.2 years). Six non-invasive autonomic function tests were performed out of which four were based mainly on parasympathetic control heart rate response to standing (30:15 ratio). The standing to lying ratio, Valsalva ratio, and the resting heart rate and the other two tests were based on sympathetic control (isometric handgrip exercise test systolic blood pressure (SBP) and cold-pressor test SBP, and diastolic BP).

Results: Present study showed significantly lower values (P ≤ 0.005) for the parasympathetic tests in the study group when compared to controls indicating impaired parasympathetic function. Similarly, the findings of sympathetic tests in study groups were significantly less (P ≤ 0.005) as compared to the controls indicating impaired sympathetic function.

Conclusion: Thus, in obesity activity of both sympathetic as well as parasympathetic divisions of ANS (autonomic nervous system) are affected, which may be the cause of various complications associated with obesity.

Key words: Autonomic Nervous System; Body Mass Index; Obesity; Valsalva Maneuver






Full-text options


Share this Article


Online Article Submission
• ejmanager.com




ejPort - eJManager.com
Refer & Earn
JournalList
About BiblioMed
License Information
Terms & Conditions
Privacy Policy
Contact Us

The articles in Bibliomed are open access articles licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.