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Women at altitude: ventilatory acclimatization at 4,300 m
S R Muza1, P B Rock, C S Fulco
1United States Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, Natick, MA 01760-5007, USA. Stephen.muza@na.amedd.army.mil
Journal of Applied Physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985)
|September 25, 2001
Summary
Women acclimatizing to high altitude show similar ventilation and acclimatization rates regardless of menstrual cycle phase, matching male responses. This challenges previous assumptions about sex-based differences in altitude adaptation.
Area of Science:
- Physiology
- Altitude Medicine
- Reproductive Physiology
Background:
- Women exhibit phase-dependent ventilation during the menstrual cycle at sea level.
- Previous research suggested potential sex-based differences in ventilatory acclimatization to high altitude.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if ventilatory acclimatization to high altitude differs between the luteal and follicular phases of the menstrual cycle in women.
- To compare ventilatory acclimatization in women versus men at high altitude.
Main Methods:
- Studied 22 unacclimatized women at sea level and during 12 days at 4,300 m.
- Measured resting ventilatory parameters, hypoxic ventilatory response, and hypercapnic ventilatory response (HCVR) in follicular and luteal phases.
- Included within-subject comparisons at sea level.
Main Results:
- Alveolar ventilation at sea level was higher in the luteal phase compared to the follicular phase.
- No significant differences in resting ventilation, hypoxic ventilatory response, or HCVR were found between menstrual cycle phases at sea level or high altitude.
- Ventilatory acclimatization in women was similar to that previously reported in men.
Conclusions:
- Women ascending rapidly to high altitude exhibit similar alveolar ventilation and acclimatization time courses irrespective of menstrual cycle phase.
- The study did not find significant differences in ventilatory acclimatization between sexes at high altitude.