Publication Date
2023
Journal or Book Title
Physiological Research
Abstract
Impaired autonomic modulation and baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) have been reported during and after COVID-19. Both impairments are associated with negative cardiovascular outcomes. If these impairments were to exist undetected in young men after COVID-19, they could lead to negative cardiovascular outcomes. Fatigue is associated with autonomic dysfunction during and after COVID-19. It is unclear if fatigue can be used as an indicator of impaired autonomic modulation and BRS after COVID-19. This study aims to compare parasympathetic modulation, sympathetic modulation, and BRS between young men who had COVID-19 versus controls and to determine if fatigue is associated with impaired autonomic modulation and BRS. Parasympathetic modulation as the highfrequency power of R-R intervals (lnHFR-R), sympathetic modulation as the low-frequency power of systolic blood pressure variability (LFSBP), and BRS as the α-index were measured by power spectral density analysis. These variables were compared between 20 young men who had COVID-19 and 24 controls. Independent t-tests and Mann-Whitney U tests indicated no significant difference between the COVID-19 and the control group in: lnHFR-R, P=0.20; LFSBP, P=0.11, and α-index, P=0.20. Fatigue was not associated with impaired autonomic modulation or BRS. There is no difference in autonomic modulations or BRS between young men who had COVID-19 compared to controls. Fatigue did not seem to be associated with impaired autonomic modulation or impaired BRS in young men after COVID-19. Findings suggest that young men might not be at increased cardiovascular risk from COVID-19-related dysautonomia and impaired BRS.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.33549/physiolres.935051
Volume
72
Issue
3
License
UMass Amherst Open Access Policy
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Latchman, Peter L.; Yang, Qin; Morgenthaler, Diane; Kong, Lingsong; Sebagisha, Josephine; Melendez, Luke; Green, Cheryl A.; Bernard, Stanley; Mugno, Raymond; and De Meersman, Ronald, "Autonomic Modulation, Spontaneous Baroreflex Sensitivity and Fatigue in Young Men After COVID-19" (2023). Physiological Research. 601.
https://doi.org/10.33549/physiolres.935051