Background: Reduced vagal activity is often present in obese adolescents. Simple and practical strategies for the assessment of isolate parasympathetic outflow in this population are therefore useful.
Objectives: To compare the methods derived from heart rate variability (HRV) analysis at rest and 4 s exercise testing (T4S) for the assessment of cardiac parasympathetic modulation in adolescents classified as obese (OB) or with normal weight (NW). Additionally, associations between total and trunk fat versus autonomic modulation determined by the two methods were calculated.
Approach: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 50 adolescents (26 OB and 24 NW, 14.7 ± 1.5 years), comparing autonomic indices provided by HRV and T4S. Body fractioning was determined employing dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA).
Main results: The cardiac vagal index (CVI) obtained from T4S and standard time- and frequency-domain HRV measures were lower in OB versus NW (P ⩽ 0.05). Correlations between CVI and HRV indices of cardiac vagal modulation were as follows: CVI versus RMSSD (r = 0.44; P = 0.003); CVI versus pNN50 (r = 0.32; P = 0.04); CVI versus HF (r = 0.35; P = 0.02). Associations between body fat, android/gynoid ratio, and percent trunk fat versus CVI were of similar magnitude and direction than versus HRV indices.
Significance: The T4S proved to be adequate to detect cardiac parasympathetic impairment in obese adolescents. Moreover, vagal modulation assessed by HRV and T4S inversely correlated with visceral adipose tissue. These findings along with the simplicity and safety of the T4S should encourage its use in the assessment of cardiac parasympathetic modulation in obese pediatric populations.