Heart rate variability in assessment of autonomic dysfunction in patients with chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome

Objective: To determine and compare autonomic dysfunction in patients with chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS). Methods: The subjects were 30-60 years old and had no known systemic disease. Electrocardiographic signals in the patients in the resting state were obtained from 59 patients with CP/CPPS (age 46.5 ± 7.02 years) and 94 healthy subjects (age 48.4 ± 5.96 years), and heart rate variability parameters were compared. Results: The standard deviation of the N-N interval (P <.001), square root of the mean squared differences of the successive N-N intervals (P =.004), total power (P =.004), very low frequency (P =.012), and high frequency (P <.001) were lower in the patients with CP/CPPS. However, no significant differences were found in the low frequency and low frequency/high frequency ratios. Conclusion: Patients with CP/CPPS exhibited lower heart rate variability parameters compared with normal controls, with the exception of low frequency and low frequency/high frequency ratios. Possible differences in autonomic nervous system between those with CP/CPPS and normal healthy subjects could exist and autonomic dysfunction might be 1 of the causes that aggravates CP/CPPS.