Objectives: This study aimed to assess cardiac autonomic activity in adolescent girls with iron deficiency anemia and also to correlate serum ferritin level with cardiac autonomic activity.

Materials and Methods: 25 adolescent girls with iron deficiency anemia as study group and 25 age- matched normal adolescent girls as control group were studied. Cardiac autonomic function was assessed by measuring heart rate variability and serum ferritin level was assessed by ELISA method.

Statistical analysis: Data was analyzed using independent- t test for comparison of HRV between the two groups. Pearson's correlation was used to correlate Serum Ferritin level and HRV. P value < 0.05 is considered as statistically significant. The data is expressed as Mean &plusmn; SE.

Results: Results of the study showed that the indices of heart rate variability did not differ statistically between the groups. Further, there was no significant correlation between the serum ferritin and indices of heart rate variability.

Conclusions: Findings of present study indicate that iron deficiency anemia does not have impact on cardiac autonomic nervous activity as measured by HRV among girls of adolescent age group. Further, follow up studies as well as assessment of cardiac autonomic activity in response to the exercise might provide better understanding of alteration of cardiac autonomic activity in iron deficiency anemia.