Reduced heart rate variability in adults with autism spectrum disorder.
Adults with ASD show lower resting heart-rate variability, a marker of reduced vagal tone and possible cardiovascular risk.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Thapa et al. (2019) compared resting heart-rate variability in adults with autism and neurotypical adults.
They used a simple five-minute ECG while everyone sat quietly.
The team wanted to know if the adult ASD group showed weaker parasympathetic tone.
What they found
Adults with ASD had clearly lower resting HRV than the control group.
Lower HRV means the vagus nerve is less active, a red flag for heart and stress problems.
How this fits with other research
Thapa et al. (2021) saw the same HRV drop in children with ASD, so the deficit starts early and lasts.
Chang et al. (2012) found a similar pattern in adults with intellectual disability, hinting that several developmental conditions share this heart-stress signature.
Palka Bayard de Volo et al. (2021) tried consumer heart-rate watches during preschool FCT and got mixed results—wearables can track change but don’t yet give the clean resting HRV signal seen in lab studies like this one.
Why it matters
If you serve adults with ASD, think of low HRV as a vital sign. Add a quick resting pulse check or share lab data with the primary doctor. Teach clients paced-breathing or light exercise breaks; both can nudge HRV up and may lower anxiety and cardiac risk over time.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
A growing body of research has suggested heart rate variability (HRV) may be reduced in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in comparison to neurotypical cohorts. While there have been several studies investigating HRV in children diagnosed with ASD, few studies have been conducted in adults. The objective of the current study was to investigate autonomic nervous system activity as assessed by HRV in adults diagnosed with ASD. We hypothesized that adults with ASD would show a reduction in HRV compared to neurotypical participants. Participants diagnosed with ASD (n = 55) were recruited from the Autism Clinic for Translational Research at the Brain and Mind Centre (University of Sydney) between 2013 and 2017. Neurotypical participants were recruited from advertisements and online media. Resting state heart rate was measured for 5 min while participants sat in an upright position. Results showed there was an overall significant difference in resting-state HRV between adults diagnosed with ASD compared to the neurotypical control group. Logarithmically transformed high frequency (HF) and root mean square of successive differences were particularly decreased in the ASD group, suggesting lower parasympathetic activity. The use of psychotropic medications and comorbidities were associated with reductions in low frequency of HRV. Our data suggest an overall dysregulation in resting autonomic activity in adults with ASD. This may represent an important physiological mechanism leading to potential cardiovascular risk in ASD, which warrants further investigation. Autism Res 2019, 12: 922-930. © 2019 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. LAY SUMMARY: ASD is commonly associated with a range of physical and mental health comorbidities. Autonomic disruptions underlying reductions in heart rate variability (HRV) have been linked to a range of mental and physical health conditions. We assessed resting-state HRV in adults diagnosed with ASD in comparison to healthy individuals. Our results showed reduced heart rate variability in people diagnosed with ASD compared to adults without ASD. These findings implicate a role for autonomic activity as a potentially modifiable risk factor for ASD.
Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 2019 · doi:10.1002/aur.2104