Impact of waist hip ratio on autonomic modulation in geriatric population

Waist circumference is a predictor of total body fat and related health risks at a population level and a relatively large hip circumference is associated with lower risk of diabetes and coronary heart disease. Waist hip ratio is a better predictor of mortality in older people than waist circumference or BMI. If obesity is redefined using WHR instead of BMI, the proportion of people categorized as a risk of heart attack worldwide increases threefold. This study was aimed to record and asses the Heart rate variability (HRV) with respect to WHR in elderly population involved. To assess the autonomic changes, in this study different parameters of HRV were recorded in the elderly people with WHR less than or equal to 0.9 and compared with individuals whose WHR is more than 0.9 during normal (N), deep breathing (DB) and cold pressor test (CPT) conditions, Showed that the SDANN, Time domain HRV was decreased in subjects with higher WHR during cold pressor test compared to normal WHR subjects. Sympathovagal balance is decreased in higher WHR subjects compared to normal WHR subjects in geriatric population; the degree of decrease is more in sympathetic part than parasympathetic.