RESUMO
Objective: : To observe the effect of statins on cardiac autonomic neuropathy in patients with diabetes and to study the correlation between cardiac autonomic neuropathy as assessed by cardiac autonomic reflex tests (CARTs) and by Composite Autonomic Symptom Scale (COMPASS)-31. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted on 62 patients having Type 2 diabetes mellitus for more than 5 years. Patients were randomized into two groups, one group received standard antidiabetic therapy and other group received standard antidiabetic along with statin medication at least for more than 1 year. Each patient underwent CART and heart rate variability to assess autonomic dysfunction. In addition, COMPASS 31 questionnaire was used to evaluate symptoms subjectively. Statin Experience Assessment Questionnaire was used to note adverse effects of statins. Chi-square test, Spearman correlation test, and Mann–Whitney U-test were used for statistical analysis. Results: A significant difference in severity of cardiac autonomic dysfunction was observed between two groups as measured by CART (P = 0.016) and COMPASS-31 questionnaire (P = 0.008). Moreover, COMPASS score of >16 was observed in patients with advanced cardiac autonomic neuropathy. A significant correlation was found between COMPASS 31 score and CART results (r = 0.29, P = 0.02). Conclusion: Our study highlights the potential utility of statins in curbing progression of cardiac autonomic neuropathy and can be safely administered in patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus. COMPASS 31 questionnaire can be used as an effective screening tool for CART referral, facilitating the early detection of cardiac autonomic neuropathy.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND: There are few tools to detect the diabetic autonomic neuropathy at an earlier stage. This study was conducted to investigate the association between symptoms of autonomic neuropathy and the heart rate variability (HRV) in diabetics. METHODS: Study subjects consisted of 50 diabetic patients and 30 outpatient hospital control patients at a university family medicine department. The patients completed a Korean version of composite autonomic symptom scale (COMPASS). Electrocardiography was recorded in the supine position, on standing, and during deep breathing, for 5 minutes each. HRV of frequency domain was calculated by power spectral analysis. RESULTS: The COMPASS score was higher in female diabetic patients compared with that in controls. Among 50 diabetic patients, the total COMPASS score correlated positively with normalized low frequency (LF) score (normalized units, n.u.) (r = 0.62, P < 0 .001) and low frequency/high frequency (LF/HF) (r = 0.77, P < 0.001), negatively with normalized HF score (n.u.) (r = -0.59, P < 0.001) and RMSSD (square root of the mean of the sum of the square of differences between adjacent NN interval; r = -0.33, P = 0.031). The decrease in LF (n.u) and the increase in HF (n.u) by deep breathing from the supine position were higher in diabetic patients compared with those in controls. The increase in LF (n.u) and the decrease in HF (n.u) by standing from the supine position were lower in diabetic patients compared with those in controls. CONCLUSION: The COMPASS score correlated with some component score of the HRV in diabetics. The HRV may be used as a tool to detect diabetic autonomic neuropathy by augmentation with position change.