Department of Mental Disorder Research, National Institute of Neuroscience, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Tokyo, Japan.
Comfort Engineering Laboratory, TOYOBO co., Ltd., Shiga, Japan.
Neuropsychopharmacol Rep. 2022 Dec;42(4):457-467. doi: 10.1002/npr2.12285. Epub 2022 Jul 29.
Reduced activity and sleep-wake rhythm disturbances are essential features of depressive episodes. In addition, alterations in heart rate variability (HRV) have been implicated in depression. By using a wearable sensor that monitors 3-dimensional acceleration and HRV simultaneously, we examined the activity and HRV indices in depressive episode of mood disorders.
Participants were 19 patients (13 major depressive disorder [MDD] and 6 bipolar depression; 11 females) and 18 controls (9 females) matched for age and ethnicity (all Japanese) who completed 3 consecutive days of all-day monitoring by a small and light device attached to the chest.
Activity magnitude was significantly reduced while lying/resting time was increased in depressed patients, compared with controls. When males and females were examined separately, male, but not female, patients showed significant reduction in activity. HRV indices such as R-R interval and high-frequency power (a parameter for the parasympathetic system) were significantly decreased in patients than in controls. Significant differences in activity and HRV indices were seen only in males. Sympathetic load during sleep significantly correlated with damped rest-activity rhythm in depressed patients.
The number of participants was small, and the majority of the participants were taking psychotropic medications.
We obtained evidence for reduced activity, increased lying/resting time, and reduced HRV indices in male depressed patients. The simultaneous monitoring for activity and HRV suggested greater sympathetic load during sleep is associated with damped rest-activity rhythm (increased activity during sleep and decreased daytime activity), which might be a characteristic pathology of depression.
活动减少和睡眠-觉醒节律紊乱是抑郁发作的重要特征。此外，心率变异性（HRV）的改变与抑郁症有关。通过使用同时监测三维加速度和 HRV 的可穿戴传感器，我们检查了心境障碍抑郁发作患者的活动和 HRV 指数。
参与者为 19 名患者（13 名重度抑郁症[MDD]和 6 名双相抑郁症；11 名女性）和 18 名对照（9 名女性），他们的年龄和种族相匹配（均为日本人），通过附在胸部的小型轻便设备连续 3 天完成全天监测。
与对照组相比，抑郁患者的活动幅度显著降低，而躺着/休息时间增加。当分别检查男性和女性时，仅男性患者的活动显著减少。与对照组相比，患者的 HRV 指数（如 R-R 间隔和高频功率[副交感神经系统的一个参数]）显著降低。仅在男性中观察到活动和 HRV 指数的显著差异。睡眠期间的交感神经负荷与抑郁患者的休息-活动节律减弱显著相关。
参与者人数较少，大多数参与者正在服用精神药物。
我们获得了男性抑郁患者活动减少、躺着/休息时间增加和 HRV 指数降低的证据。活动和 HRV 的同时监测表明，睡眠期间更大的交感神经负荷与休息-活动节律减弱（睡眠期间活动增加和白天活动减少）相关，这可能是抑郁的特征性病理。
