Abstract

Background: The incidence of autonomic dysfunction has increased in the presence of type 2 diabetes mellitus and various tools have been developed for assessing it. Classical autonomic function tests are one among them. Aims & Objectives: To compare the classical autonomic function tests in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and healthy volunteers.
Materials and Methods: This study was conducted at the PSG Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India, on 30 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (cases) and 30 healthy volunteers (controls). Average age of the patients with diabetes mellitus was 48.53 ± 5.12 years (mean ± SD) and that of the volunteers was 47.10 ± 3.59 years (mean ± SD). After obtaining informed, written consent, cardiorespiratory parameters such as resting heart rate (HR), systolic blood pressure, and diastolic blood pressure were measured after 10 min of supine rest. Autonomic function parameters such as HR and blood pressure response to handgrip, deep breathing difference test, and Valsalva ratio were recorded in them.
Results: Statistical analysis was carried out using independent Student’s t-test, which showed a statistically significant impairment in HR response to handgrip (P < 0.001), blood pressure response to handgrip (P < 0.001), deep breathing test (P < 0.001), and Valsalva ratio (P < 0.001). Conclusion: Results of this study showed that significant impairment was present in patients with type 2 diabetes than in healthy volunteers, and it was more pronounced for parasympathetic system than for sympathetic system.