Author: Benedict Herhaus1, Rupert Conrad2, Katja Petrowski3
Affiliation: <sup>1</sup> Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany. Electronic address: bherhaus@uni-mainz.de.
<sup>2</sup> Department of Psychosomatic Medicine und Psychotherapy, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany; Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Muenster, Muenster, Germany. Electronic address: Rupert.Conrad@ukbonn.de.
<sup>3</sup> Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany. Electronic address: kpetrows@uni-mainz.de.
Conference/Journal: J Affect Disord
Date published: 2023 Jan 28
Other:
Special Notes: doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2023.01.091. , Word Count: 208
A generalized proinflammatory state has been observed in individuals with panic disorder (PD). There is evidence that slow-paced breathing (SPB) with heart rate variability-biofeedback (HRV-BF) strengthens the nervus vagus with its anti-inflammatory pathway. Therefore, with this randomized controlled trial we aimed to investigate the effect of a four-week SPB with HRV-BF intervention on pro-inflammatory cytokines in people with PD. Fifty-five individuals with PD (mean age: 37.22 ± 15.13 years) were randomly allocated either to SPB-HRV-BF (intervention group) or to HRV-Sham-BF (active control group). SPB-HRV-BF was performed over four weeks while cytokine concentration and HRV during a short-term resting condition were measured before and after intervention. SPB-HRV-BF decreased concentration of Tumor Necrosis Factor alpha (TNF-alpha) (F(1, 53) = 4.396, p ≤ .05, η2 = 0.077) in individuals with PD. In addition, SPB-HRV-BF demonstrated an increase in the HRV-time and frequency domain parameters SDNN, Total Power and LF during short-term resting condition. There was no intervention effect in HRV-Sham-BF group. In conclusion, SBP-HRV-BF as a non-pharmacological treatment may reduce pro-inflammatory cytokine TNF-alpha via the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway in individuals with PD. Based on the generalized proinflammatory state in PD, decreasing TNF-alpha is highly beneficial to reduce risk of cardiovascular diseases and metabolic syndrome.
Keywords: Biofeedback; Heart rate variability; Immune system; Panic disorder; Randomized controlled trial; Slow-paced breathing.
PMID: 36720404 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2023.01.091