Heart rate variability during sleep in detoxified alcohol-dependent males: A comparison with healthy controls

CONTEXT: Alcohol dependence can lead to autonomic neuropathy resulting in increased cardiac morbidity and mortality. This has previously been evaluated using heart-rate variability. AIMS: We compared sleep heart-rate variability of alcohol-dependent patients with that of healthy controls in this study. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: This study was conducted at NIMHANS, Bangalore. A case control study design was adopted. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sleep heart-rate variability of 20 male alcohol-dependent inpatients was recorded on the 5(th) day after detoxification. Sleep heart-rate variability was also recorded in 18 age- and gender-matched healthy controls. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: The groups were compared using t-test for continuous variables and Chi-squared test for discrete variables. RESULTS: Both time and frequency domain measures were significantly lower in the patients as compared to the controls, indicating decreased HRV in alcohol-dependent individuals. CONCLUSIONS: Decreased HRV in alcohol dependence indicates potential autonomic neuropathy.