Improvements seen in RMSSD for participants with COPD randomly assigned to active air cleaner versus placebo<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter<\/b><\/p>\n
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TUESDAY, Dec. 13, 2022 (HealthDay News) — For patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), household air pollution is associated with cardiac autonomic function, with the greatest effect seen for ultrafine particles, according to a study published online Oct. 26 in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine<\/em>.<\/p>\n Sarath Raju, M.D., M.P.H., from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, and colleagues examined the association between indoor particulate matter (PM) and heart rate variability (HRV), a measure of cardiac autonomic function associated with cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, in a randomized trial of a portable air cleaner intervention involving former smokers with moderate-to-severe COPD. At up to five time points, participants underwent paired assessment of in-home PM and HRV using 24-hour Holter monitoring.<\/p>\n Overall, 317 HRV measurements were contributed by 85 participants. The researchers found that a twofold increase in household PM2.5<\/sub> was associated with reductions in the standard deviation of normal-to-normal intervals (SDNN) and the root-mean square of successive differences between normal-to-normal intervals (RMSSD; \u00ce\u00b2 = \u00e2\u0088\u00922.98 and \u00e2\u0088\u00924.57 percent). The effects were greatest with ultrafine particles (RMSSD: \u00ce\u00b2 = \u00e2\u0088\u009216.4 percent) and for obese participants. Improvements in RMSSD (\u00ce\u00b2 = 25.2 percent) but not SDNN were seen for participants randomly assigned to the active air cleaner versus the placebo group.<\/p>\n “In the future, air cleaners may be something to recommend to patients along with medications, but also can be part of a larger discussion about the importance of home environments,” Raju said in a statement.<\/p>\n Abstract\/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)<\/a><\/p>\n <\/i><\/p>\n