Mathewson Karen J, Van Lieshout Ryan J, Saigal Saroj, Boyle Michael H, Schmidt Louis A
McMaster University, Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour, Canada.
McMaster University, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, Canada.
Int J Psychophysiol. 2014 Aug;93(2):198-203. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2014.04.005. Epub 2014 Apr 18.
Individuals born at extremely low birth weight (ELBW; <1000 g) are exposed to early adversity in multiple forms. Given that substantial development of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) occurs during the third trimester of gestation, ANS functioning may be altered in adults who were born before reaching 28 weeks of gestational age. The aims of the study were to: (1) determine whether two indices of ANS functioning [resting heart period (HP) and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA)], differed between adult ELBW survivors and normal birth weight (NBW) controls, and (2) ascertain whether ANS functioning was differentially vulnerable to age-related decline in the ELBW participants. Resting HP and RSA (reflecting cardiac efficiency and responsive cardiac control, respectively) were assessed in 30 non-impaired ELBW survivors and 47 NBW controls at ages 22-26 and again at 30-35 years. At each assessment, resting RSA was significantly lower in the ELBW group than in the NBW comparison group. In addition, individual differences in RSA within the ELBW group were poorly preserved over time. These findings are suggestive of a premature decline in parasympathetic functioning in some adult ELBW survivors.
出生时体重极低（ELBW；<1000克）的个体面临多种形式的早期逆境。鉴于自主神经系统（ANS）在妊娠晚期有显著发育，出生时孕周不足28周的成年人的ANS功能可能会发生改变。本研究的目的是：（1）确定成人ELBW幸存者与正常出生体重（NBW）对照组在ANS功能的两个指标[静息心率周期（HP）和呼吸性窦性心律不齐（RSA）]上是否存在差异，以及（2）确定在ELBW参与者中，ANS功能是否对与年龄相关的衰退有不同程度的易感性。在30名未受损的ELBW幸存者和47名NBW对照组中，分别在22 - 26岁以及30 - 35岁时评估静息HP和RSA（分别反映心脏效率和反应性心脏控制）。在每次评估中，ELBW组的静息RSA均显著低于NBW对照组。此外，ELBW组内RSA的个体差异随时间推移保持不佳。这些发现表明，一些成年ELBW幸存者的副交感神经功能过早衰退。
