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.
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.
Stein
Phyllis K
PK
Cardiovascular Division, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63108, USA. pstein@im.wustl.edu
Barzilay
Joshua I
JI
Chaves
Paulo H M
PH
Traber
Jennifer
J
Domitrovich
Peter P
PP
Heckbert
Susan R
SR
Gottdiener
John S
JS
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
D018836:Inflammation Mediators; D015850:Interleukin-6; D005340:Fibrinogen; D002097:C-Reactive Protein