Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42430348›Full record

ArticlePloS one2026

Impact of vagus nerve cross-sectional area on electrocardiogram parameters in community-dwelling older adults: The YAHABA study.

Nao Onodera, Kazumasa Oura, Hiroshi Akasaka, Naoki Ishizuka, Tohru Fujiwara, Ryo Itabashi, Tetsuya Maeda

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Nao OnoderaDivision of Neurology and Gerontology, Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Iwate Medical University, Yahaba, Shiwa, Iwate, Japan.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0009-0682-440X
Kazumasa OuraDivision of Neurology and Gerontology, Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Iwate Medical University, Yahaba, Shiwa, Iwate, Japan.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2693-7585
Hiroshi AkasakaDivision of Neurology and Gerontology, Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Iwate Medical University, Yahaba, Shiwa, Iwate, Japan.
Naoki IshizukaDivision of Neurology and Gerontology, Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Iwate Medical University, Yahaba, Shiwa, Iwate, Japan.
Tohru FujiwaraCentral Clinical Analysis Division, Iwate Medical University Hospital, Yahaba, Shiwa, Iwate, Japan.
Ryo ItabashiDivision of Neurology and Gerontology, Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Iwate Medical University, Yahaba, Shiwa, Iwate, Japan.
Tetsuya MaedaDivision of Neurology and Gerontology, Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Iwate Medical University, Yahaba, Shiwa, Iwate, Japan.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6207-8343

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesThe aim of this study was to investigate the association between vagus nerve cross-sectional area (VN-CSA) using carotid ultrasonography and electrocardiogram (ECG) parameters in community-dwelling older adults, thereby clarifying the influence of VN-CSA on cardiac electrical activity.

methodsA cross-sectional study examining the association between VN-CSA and ECG parameters. We prospectively enrolled participants aged ≥65 years who underwent both 12-lead ECG and carotid ultrasonography from the 2023 survey of a community-based cohort study (YAHABA study). The VN-CSA was measured offline at the thyroid level using carotid ultrasonography with a 3-8 MHz linear probe. Participants were divided into tertiles of each side; right tertile (RT)1 (<1.0 mm), RT2 (1.0-1.1 mm), and RT3 (>1.1 mm2). and left tertile (LT)1 (<0.9 mm2), LT2 (0.9-1.0 mm2), and LT3 (>1.0 mm2). ECG parameters were compared among the three groups on each of the left and right sides. Furthermore, linear regression analysis was performed to examine the association between left and right VN-CSA and ECG parameters.

resultsFinally, 183 participants enrolled in this study. In the analysis of covariance in multiple comparisons among tertiles of each side, RT1 had a higher heart rate (p = 0.021), a shorter R-R interval (p = 0.037), and a higher P-wave amplitude (p = 0.008) than RT2, while no significant differences were observed between RT1 and RT3. No significant associations were observed for the left VN-CSA. In the linear regression analyses, significant associations were observed between the left VN-CSA and QRS duration (p = 0.038), while there was no significant association between the right VN-CSA and ECG parameters.

conclusionThe size of the vagus nerves had different effects on cardiac electrical activity in the left and right sides. The right VN-CSA may be associated with the electrical activity of the sinus node and atria, while the left VN-CSA may be associated with the electrical activity of the ventricles.

Indexed as

ElectrocardiographyVagus NerveAgedAged, 80 and overCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansIndependent LivingMaleProspective StudiesUltrasonography, Carotid Arteries

Identifiers

PMID42430348
PMCPMC13354007

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.