Vascular health and exercise in females throughout the lifespan: Exploring puberty, pregnancy and menopause

FIGURE 1. Hormonal levels in females across the lifespan. The figure shows approximate relative changes in blood hormone levels in major hormonal events of the female lifespan including puberty, the menstrual cycle, pregnancy and menopause. x‐ and y‐axes are not scaled. Puberty: below age 10, total oestrogen (E1 and E2) mean levels are approximately 23 pg/mL and during puberty will increase up to 170 pg/mL. Prior to age 10, progesterone levels are approximately <10 ng/dL and then can increase to over 1000 ng/dL at the completion of puberty. Pre‐menopause: the hormone profile shown is a menstrual cycle representative of a female with a gynaecological age of greater than 2 years. Of note, at menarche onset, menstrual cycles can appear irregular, and females may experience anovulation within the first few years. Total oestrogen also fluctuates during the menstrual cycle, ranging from 60 to 200 pg/mL during the follicular phase (day 0 to 14) and 160 to 400 pg/mL during the luteal phase (day 14 to 28) with the highest levels occurring during the late follicular phase. Progesterone is lower during the follicular phase (ranging from <10 to 1563 ng/dL) and peaks during the luteal phase (ranging…

FIGURE 2. Vascular changes in females across the lifespan. Summary of vascular changes that occur during puberty and pre‐menopause (top), pregnancy (middle) and post‐menopause (bottom).

FIGURE 3. Impact of exercise on vascular function in females. Summary of the impact of exercise on vascular function during puberty and pre‐menopause (left), pregnancy (right) and post‐menopause (bottom).