Changes in heart rate variability of patients with schizophrenia treated with olanzapine
Poster B10, Friday, October 21, 11:30 am - 1:00 pm, Le Baron
Kang Joon Lee1, Hyun Kim1; 1Inje University Ilsan Paik Hospital
Heart rate variability (HRV) provides non-invasive indices of cardiac autonomic modulation. The aim of this study was to examine within-subject changes in HRV indices in acutely ill patients with schizophrenia treated with olanzapine. 46 patients with DSM-5 schizophrenia completed electrocardiogram (ECG) assessments at baseline and after six weeks of treatment with olanzapine. Indices of HRV were extracted from 5-min resting ECG recordings. All participants underwent the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and the Clinical Global Impression (CGI-S) and the Drug-Induced Extrapyramidal Symptoms Scale (DIEPSS). The patients' daily dose of olanzapine was 11.3 ± 3.7 mg/day. Data of 6 week treatment phase showed significant reductions in the mean total PANSS score (p<0.01), the mean positive and negative symptoms subscale score (p<0.01), and the mean CGI-S score (p<0.01). The repeated measures MANOVA revealed that there was a significant time effect (p<0.05). Follow-up repeated-measures ANOVAs revealed a significant increase in the mean RR interval (p<0.01) and a significant decrease in the LF/HF(low-frequency power/high-frequency power) ratio (p<0.01) after olanzapine treatment. A significant negative correlation was found between the changes in SDNN (standard deviation of all RR intervals) and the changes in the PANSS positive symptoms score (p<0.05). The changes in RMSSD (square root of the mean squared differences of successive RR intervals) were also negatively correlated with the changes in the PANSS total (p<0.01) and the positive symptoms scores (p<0.01). The results suggest that treatment with olanzapine may lead to increased cardio-vagal activity in patients with acute schizophrenia, thereby affecting the sympathovagal imbalance.
Topic Area: Electrophysiology