The Effect of Methylphenidate Treatment on Heart Rate Variability and Cardiac Autonomic Functions in Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Abstract

Aim:Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most common childhood psychiatric disorder. Psychostimulant drugs are frequently used in the treatment regimen. The possible cardiac side effects of drugs are of concern. In our study, we aimed to determine possible cardiac autonomic effects with heart rate variability (HRV) in ADHD patients receiving methylphenidate (MPH).Materials and Methods:We used a retrospective pre-post treatment study design to measure the change in HRV parameters in ADHD patients receiving MPH therapy. A total of 49 patients (mean age, 8.3±2.5 years) diagnosed with ADHAB and 30 sex- and age-matched healthy controls (mean age, 8.2±2.7 years) were examined. Rhythm Holter recordings were made for the patients before MPH treatment and in the first month of treatment and for the control group, and HRV parameters were evaluated in the computer environment.Results:There was no difference in age, gender, weight and height in the patient and control groups (p>0.05). In the analysis of time-dependent HRV parameters, SDNN, SDANN, which shows the sympathetic influence, and rMSSD, which shows the parasympathetic influence, were statistically significantly lower in the patient group than in the control group (p0.05).Conclusion:Our study showed that there was increased sympathetic and decreased parasympathetic activity in HRV parameters in ADHD patients. Both sympathetic and parasympathetic improvement was observed with MPH treatment. Although our study shows that MPH treatment has a curative effect on cardiac autonomic functions, further studies are needed.

Keywords

• attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
• methylphenidate
• heart rate variability