Aim. The present study was designed to evaluate the heart rate variability (HRV) in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and to assess the effect of grade of NAFLD and diabetic status on HRV. Methods. This cross-sectional study included 75 subjects (25 NAFLD without diabetes, 25 NAFLD with diabetes, and 25 controls). Measurements included anthropometry, body composition analysis, estimation of plasma glucose, serum lipids, hsCRP, and serum insulin. HRV analysis was performed in both time and frequency domains. Results. The time and frequency domain indices of overall variability (SDNN, total power) were significantly lower in NAFLD with diabetes as compared to the controls. However, the LF : HF ratio did not differ among the three groups. The variables related to obesity, lipid profile, and glucose metabolism were also higher in NAFLD with diabetes and those with Grade II NAFLD without diabetes, as compared to controls. Multivariate stepwise regression analysis showed a negative correlation between HRV and total cholesterol and fat percentage. Conclusion. The grade of NAFLD as well as diabetic status contributes to the decrease in the cardiovascular autonomic function, with diabetic status rather than grade of NAFLD playing a critical role. Serum lipids and adiposity may also contribute to cardiac autonomic dysfunction.

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Both the diabetic status and grade of NAFLD were shown to have an independent effect on the decrease in the BRS with a consequent effect on BPV, with a greater influence of diabetic status rather than NAFLD grade on arterial stiffness.