Table 2.
Characteristics comparison between abstinent and relapsed patients from HRV-biofeedback and control groups
| HRV-biofeedback | p-value | Control | p-value | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abstinent (n=10) |
Relapse (n=5) |
Abstinent (n=6) |
Relapse (n=6) |
|||
| Demographic factors | ||||||
| Age (years) | 44.0±6.0 | 39.8±9,3 | 0.37 | 44.0±5.3 | 43.3±12.7 | 0.9 |
| Gender (%) | 80 m, 20 f | 40 m, 60 f | 0.13 | 83.3 m, 16.7 f | 83.3 m, 16.7 f | 1.0 |
| Smoking (%) | 80 | 80 | 1.0 | 83.3 | 66.7 | 0.5 |
| Psychometric characteristics | ||||||
| Craving at baseline | 15.2±13.1 | 11.9±11.3 | 0.62 | 10.0±5.4 | 10.2±1.8 | 0.94 |
| Craving post-intervention | 10.0±10.0 | 8.8±8.8 | 0.85 | 6.5±4.9 | 5.5±5.4 | 1.0 |
| Anxiety at baseline | 6.0±3.8 | 6.2±5.2 | 0.94 | 5.8±5.2 | 3.2±3.2 | 0.31 |
| Anxiety post-intervention | 4.0±3.7 | 5.1±7.3 | 1.0 | 3.8±2.9 | 3.2±3.9 | 0.58 |
| Depression at baseline | 9.4±7.3 | 11.3±9.0 | 0.69 | 9.5±7.2 | 8.2±5.8 | 0.73 |
| Depression post-intervention | 5.4±5.1 | 10.5±10.8 | 0.37 | 6.7±5.5 | 6.5±6.3 | 0.81 |
| Heart rate variability | ||||||
| CVNN at baseline (%) | 3.5±1.1 | 5.1±2.1 | 0.15 | 3.6±0.7 | 4.9±1.6 | 0.11 |
| CVNN post-intervention (%) | 4.5±1.21 | 5.5±1.7 | 0.27 | 3.5±1.3 | 5.4±2.7 | 0.16 |
| HF at baseline (ms2) | 222.8±258.8 | 606.6±1331.2 | 0.2 | 193.1±182.5 | 310.4±312.3 | 0.81 |
| HF post-intervention (ms2) | 93.4±101.5 | 405.9±400.9 | 0.07 | 86.2±42.3 | 1074.8±1589.1 | 0.31 |
| LF at baseline (ms2) | 229.9±122.7 | 681.96±811.4 | 0.16 | 260.6±216.0 | 674.9±665.8 | 0.18 |
| LF post-intervention (ms2) | 546.5±409.5 | 615.82±573.9 | 0.85 | 343.9±317.2 | 1246.2±2444.4 | 0.81 |
| TP at baseline (ms2) | 915.8±659.7 | 2332.2±2475.8 | 0.16 | 1255.3±1331.8 | 1425.4±1248.9 | 1.0 |
| TP post-intervention (ms2) | 1138.3±597.7 | 1945.7±1773.6 | 0.44 | 713.9±539.3 | 2480.8±4048.6 | 0.39 |
Analyses revealed no differences between abstinent patients and those who had relapse in any of the included demographic, psychometric or HRV parameters. Among patients who completed follow-up, this was true both in between patients who have undergone HRV-biofeedback one year earlier and those who have received rehabilitation only. “Craving” refers to the Obsessive Compulsive Drinking Scale score. “Anxiety” and “Depression” refer to scores of subscales Anxiety and Depression from the Symptom Checklist-90
CVNN coefficient of variation of R-R intervals, HF high frequency, LF low frequency, TP total power