title: Higher levels of inflammation factors and greater insulin resistance are independently associated with higher heart rate and lower heart rate variability in normoglycemic older individuals: the Cardiovascular Health Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explore the relationship between (1) insulin resistance and inflammation factors with (2) higher heart rate (HR) and lower heart rate variability (HRV) in normoglycemic older adults.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional population-based study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Five hundred forty-five adults aged 65 and older with normoglycemia (fasting glucose <100 mg/dL) who participated in the Cardiovascular Health Study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Serum levels of three inflammation proteins (C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin 6 (IL-6), and fibrinogen); insulin resistance, quantified according to the homeostasis assessment model (HOMA-IR); HR; and four representative measures of HRV (the standard deviation of normal beat to beat intervals (SDNN), the root mean square of successive differences (rMSSD), very low frequency power (VLF), and the low- to high-frequency power ratio (LF/HF)) derived from 24-hour Holter recordings.
  
  
  RESULTS
  High CRP and IL-6 levels were associated with higher HR and lower SDNN and VLF after adjustment for multiple covariates, including HOMA-IR and clinical cardiovascular disease. High IL-6 was also associated with lower LF/HF. Significant univariate inverse relationships between HOMA-IR and HR and HRV were also found, but the strengths of these relationships were attenuated after adjustment for inflammation factors.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Increased levels of inflammation markers and HOMA-IR are associated with higher HR and lower HRV. These findings suggest that inflammation may contribute to the pathogenesis of cardiovascular autonomic decline in older adults.
authors.affiliation: Cardiovascular Division, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63108, USA. pstein@im.wustl.edu
authors.forename: Phyllis K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Stein
authors.forename: Joshua I
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Barzilay
authors.forename: Paulo H M
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Chaves
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Traber
authors.forename: Peter P
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Domitrovich
authors.forename: Susan R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Heckbert
authors.forename: John S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Gottdiener
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000097:blood*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D015716:Electrocardiography, Ambulatory; D005260:Female; D005340:Fibrinogen / Q000378:metabolism; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D018836:Inflammation Mediators / Q000097:blood*; D007333:Insulin Resistance; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D018836:Inflammation Mediators; D015850:Interleukin-6; D005340:Fibrinogen; D002097:C-Reactive Protein