Androgenic Steroid Hormones and Endurance Exercise in Athletic Women

This study investigated the impact of intensive endurance exercise on circulating androgenic steroid hormones in women. Fifteen normally menstruating athletic women participated. They completed intensive endurance exercise (treadmill running) until volitional fatigue in their follicular phase, with blood samples collected at pre-exercise, volitional fatigue, 90 min and 24 h into recovery. The steroid hormones (total, free testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone DHEA, and DHEA-sulfate DHEA-S, cortisol) were analyzed in blood sera. Non-parametric statistics were used to assess changes across exercise and recovery. At volitional fatigue, all hormones, except free testosterone, were significantly (p −0.62, p < 0.05). In conclusion, in menstruating women performing intensive endurance exercise during their follicular phase, their androgenic steroid hormones remain elevated during early recovery but are suppressed at 24 h of recovery. The latter finding indicates that establishing a resting endocrine equilibrium requires a longer recovery period than 24 h.