Aims: 

Analysis of heart rate variability (HRV) can provide information predominantly about parasympathetic control of the heart. Nonlinear phenomena are involved in HRV signal – therefore, methods of nonlinear dynamics are increasingly applied to this signal to improve the description of different pathological states influencing autonomic nervous system. Classical nonlinear measures (Lyapunov exponent, etc.) are of limited use in real biosignals analysis due to limited availability of long stationary data in living subjects. Therefore, new methods that are able to detect nonlinear characteristics are developed – one of them is recurrence plot with recurrence quantification analysis (RQA). The aim of this study was to find whether HRV parameters derived from RQA are different in young patients with DM compared to control group.

Methods: 

Patients with type 1 DM (17, 10 females, 7 males) aged 12.9-31.5 years were investigated. The control group consisted of 17 healthy matched probands. The length of R-R intervals was measured using telemetric system.

Results: 

From RQA measures based on diagonal lines in recurrence plots, we have found higher percentage of recurrence (%Rec) and of determinism (%Det) and increased maximal length of diagonal line in DM group. Trapping Time was higher in DM group compared to controls.

Conclusion: 

These results suggest reduced complexity and increased predictability of heart rate dynamics even in young patients with DM. RQA parameters can be used together with other HRV parameters for better description of heart rate dysregulation.