title: Cardiac and respiratory patterns during sleep in cocaine-exposed neonates.
abstract: Four-hour recordings of heart rate and respiration during spontaneous sleep and wakefulness were obtained from 17 cocaine-exposed and 14 control infants at 2 weeks of age. The median values for heart and respiratory rate and variability were determined for each 1-min epoch of quiet and active sleep. Overall mean rates and variabilities were determined for each state. The cocaine-exposed infants showed significantly greater sleep state effects on heart rate relative to the control infants. Recency of cocaine exposure was not a factor in the differences; even those cocaine-exposed infants who tested negative for the drug perinatally differed significantly from those who had never been exposed. Heart rate variability was increased in cocaine-exposed infants relative to controls in both sleep states. Respiratory rate and variability were not significantly different in the cocaine-exposed and control infants. These results suggest differences in cardiovascular control in infants of cocaine-abusing mothers compared to infants without cocaine exposure. The mechanism responsible for these differences is unclear and may reflect cocaine-induced changes in the autonomic physiology of developing infants or some indirect effect of maternal cocaine use.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Southern California, School of Medicine, Los Angeles, USA.
authors.forename: M G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Regalado
authors.forename: V L
authors.initials: VL
authors.lastname: Schechtman
authors.forename: A P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Del Angel
authors.forename: X D
authors.initials: XD
authors.lastname: Bean
mesh_terms: D003042:Cocaine / Q000009:adverse effects*; D016578:Crack Cocaine / Q000009:adverse effects; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D012119:Respiration / Q000502:physiology*; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D016578:Crack Cocaine; D003042:Cocaine