Key result
Total and leg lean body mass strongly correlated with peak cardiac output and oxygen uptake in women (r ≥ 0.53, p ≤ 0.003), and normalizing by lean body mass abolished cardiac sex differences.
Why the study?
The contribution of body composition to sex differences in prognostic cardiorespiratory variables remains unresolved.
Does body composition determine sex differences in cardiac and oxygen uptake responses to incremental exercise in healthy adults?
Cross-Sectional (n=60)
Does body composition determine sex differences in cardiac and oxygen uptake responses to incremental exercise in healthy adults?
Effect estimate: r ≥ 0.53
p-value: p=≤0.003
Apparent sex differences in peak cardiac output during exercise are abolished when normalized by lean body mass rather than body surface area.
Lean mass normalization may abolish apparent sex differences in peak cardiac output; hypothesis-generating for body composition's role in exercise responses.
Objective The contribution of body composition to sex differences in strong prognostic cardiorespiratory variables remains unresolved. This study aimed to elucidate whether body composition determines sex differences in cardiac and oxygen (O 2 ) uptake responses to incremental exercise. Methods Healthy, moderately active women and men ( n = 60, age = 60.7 [12.3] years) matched by age and cardiorespiratory fitness were included. Body composition was determined via dual‐energy x‐ray absorptiometry. Transthoracic echocardiography and O 2 uptake were assessed at rest and throughout incremental exercise with established methods. Major cardiac and pulmonary outcomes were normalized by body surface area (BSA), total lean body mass (LBM), or leg LBM. Results Women presented with smaller anthropometrical indices (height, weight, BSA) and LBM compared with men ( p < 0.001). Peak exercise cardiac dimensions and output (i.e., peak cardiac outout [Q peak ]), commonly normalized by BSA, were reduced in women relative to men ( p ≤ 0.019). Cardiac sex differences were abolished after normalization by total or leg LBM ( p ≥ 0.115). Strong linear relationships of total and leg LBM with Q peak and peak oxygen uptake were detected exclusively in women ( r ≥ 0.53, p ≤ 0.003), independent of body fat percentage. Conclusions Total and leg LBM stand out as strong independent determinants of cardiac and aerobic capacities in women, regardless of body fat percentage, relationships that are not present in age‐ and fitness‐matched men.
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Díaz-Cañestro et al. (2021) conducted a cross-sectional in Healthy, moderately active (n=60). Female sex vs. Male sex was evaluated on Peak cardiac output and peak oxygen uptake (r ≥ 0.53, p=≤0.003). Total and leg lean body mass strongly correlated with peak cardiac output and oxygen uptake in women (r ≥ 0.53, p ≤ 0.003), and normalizing by lean body mass abolished cardiac sex differences.
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