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Response of women using oral contraception to exercise in the heat

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Abstract

Purpose

To compare the response of long-term oral contraceptive users (WomenOC; n = 8) to naturally menstruating women (WomenNM; n = 8) at rest and during exercise in temperate (TEMP; 22 °C) and hot (HEAT; 35 °C) conditions.

Methods

Participants performed a three-stage cycling trial in each condition at 90, 135, and 180% of lactate threshold 1 (total = 52.5 min). Heart rate (HR) and core temperature (T c) were recorded continuously, whereas blood pressure (BP), ratings of perceived exertion (RPE), blood lactate [La−], and skin blood flow (BFsk) were recorded every 7.5 min.

Results

Baseline T c was higher in WomenOC (37.5 ± 0.2, 37.6 ± 0.3 °C) than WomenNM (37.2 ± 0.2, 37.0 ± 0.4 °C) before the TEMP (p = 0.03) and HEAT (p < 0.01) trials, respectively. This difference remained for 22.5 min into both trials (p ≤ 0.05), after which time no between-group differences were found (p > 0.05). BFsk measured in WomenNM plateaued from 7.5 min in the HEAT, whereas BFsk measured in WomenOC increased for 15.0 min (p = 0.02) before plateauing. There were no between-group differences in HR, BP, or blood [La−] before or throughout either trial (p > 0.05). WomenOC had higher (p ≤ 0.04) RPE values than WomenNM in the HEAT, reporting 8 ± 1 and 6 ± 2 at the end of Stage 3, respectively.

Conclusions

WomenOC concluded both trials with a comparable T c to WomenNM, but had a prolonged BFsk response and elevated RPE in the HEAT. Changes to BFsk and RPE observed in women using OC may have implications for exercise tolerance in hot conditions.

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Abbreviations

ANOVA:

Analysis of variance

BFsk :

Skin blood flow

BP:

Blood pressure

C:

Celsius

cm:

Centimeter (s)

h:

Hour (s)

HEAT:

Heat trial (35 °C)

HR:

Heart rate

kg:

Kilogram (s)

[La−]:

Lactate

L min−1 :

Liters per minute

LT:

Lactate threshold

min:

Minute (s)

mL:

Milliliter (s)

mmol/L:

Millimoles per liter

OC:

Oral contraceptives

RPE:

Ratings of perceived exertion

rpm:

Revolutions per minute

s:

Second (s)

SD:

Standard deviation

T c :

Core temperature

TEMP:

Temperate trial (22 °C)

V02 :

Oxygen consumption

W:

Watts

wk:

Week

WomenNM:

Naturally menstruating women

WomenOC:

Women on oral contraception

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Griffith Sports Physiology, School of Allied Health Sciences, Griffith University, Gold Coast, QLD, Australia

    Clare Minahan, Marina Melnikoff, Karlee Quinn & Brianna Larsen

  2. Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Griffith University, Gold Coast, QLD, Australia

    Clare Minahan, Karlee Quinn & Brianna Larsen

  3. Queensland Academy of Sport, Centre of Excellence for Applied Sport Science Research, Nathan, QLD, Australia

    Karlee Quinn & Brianna Larsen

Authors
  1. Clare Minahan
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  2. Marina Melnikoff
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  3. Karlee Quinn
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  4. Brianna Larsen
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Clare Minahan.

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Funding source

This study was funded by the Queensland Academy of Sport, Centre of Excellence for Applied Sport Science Research.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Communicated by Narihiko Kondo.

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Minahan, C., Melnikoff, M., Quinn, K. et al. Response of women using oral contraception to exercise in the heat. Eur J Appl Physiol 117, 1383–1391 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-017-3628-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-017-3628-7

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