Sex differences in autonomic function following maximal exercise

Biology of Sex Differences

Bo Fernhall³  Jeffrey A. Woods⁴  Kenneth R. Wilund⁴  I. Shevon Harvey⁷  Peng Sun⁵  Marc D. Cook³  Abbi D. Lane-Cordova²  Huimin Yan¹  Sushant M. Ranadive⁶  Rebecca M. Kappus³ 

[1]Department of Kinesiology, East Carolina, Greensboro, NC, USA

[2]Department Health and Human Physiology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA

[3]Department of Kinesiology, Nutrition, and Rehabilitation, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

[4]Department of Kinesiology and Community Health, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA

[5]Key Laboratory of Adolescent Health Assessment and Exercise Intervention, Ministry of Education, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China

[6]Department of Anesthesiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA

[7]Department of Health and Kinesiology, Texas A & M University, College Station, TX, USA

关键词: Vagal modulation;    Sympathetic activity;    Blood pressure variability;    Heart rate recovery;    Heart rate variability;   

Others  :  1234848
DOI  :  10.1186/s13293-015-0046-6

 received in 2015-07-24, accepted in 2015-11-15,  发布年份 2015

【 摘 要 】

Background

Heart rate variability (HRV), blood pressure variability, (BPV) and heart rate recovery (HRR) are measures that provide insight regarding autonomic function. Maximal exercise can affect autonomic function, and it is unknown if there are sex differences in autonomic recovery following exercise. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine sex differences in several measures of autonomic function and the response following maximal exercise.

Methods

Seventy-one (31 males and 40 females) healthy, nonsmoking, sedentary normotensive subjects between the ages of 18 and 35 underwent measurements of HRV and BPV at rest and following a maximal exercise bout. HRR was measured at minute one and two following maximal exercise.

Results

Males have significantly greater HRR following maximal exercise at both minute one and two; however, the significance between sexes was eliminated when controlling for VO ₂peak. Males had significantly higher resting BPV-low-frequency (LF) values compared to females and did not significantly change following exercise, whereas females had significantly increased BPV-LF values following acute maximal exercise. Although males and females exhibited a significant decrease in both HRV-LF and HRV-high frequency (HF) with exercise, females had significantly higher HRV-HF values following exercise. Males had a significantly higher HRV-LF/HF ratio at rest; however, both males and females significantly increased their HRV-LF/HF ratio following exercise.

Conclusions

Pre-menopausal females exhibit a cardioprotective autonomic profile compared to age-matched males due to lower resting sympathetic activity and faster vagal reactivation following maximal exercise. Acute maximal exercise is a sufficient autonomic stressor to demonstrate sex differences in the critical post-exercise recovery period.

【 授权许可】

   
2015 Kappus et al.

【 图 表 】

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