The impact of menstrual-cycle phase on basal and exercise-induced hormones, mood, anxiety and exercise performance in physically active women

Abstract Context Oxytocin regulates a range of physiological processes including eating behavior and oxytocin administration reduces caloric intake in males. There are few data on oxytocin and eating behavior in healthy females or on the response of endogenous oxytocin to food intake and its relationship to appetite in humans. Objectives To determine the postprandial pattern of oxytocin levels, the relationship between oxytocin and appetite, and the impact of menstrual cycle phase and age on oxytocin levels in females. Design Cross-sectional. Setting Clinical research center. Participants Fifty-five healthy females (age 10 to 45 years). Interventions A standardized mixed meal was administered. Main Outcome Measurements Blood sampling for oxytocin occurred at fasting and at 30, 60, and 120 minutes postmeal. Appetite was assessed using Visual Analogue Scales pre- and postmeal. Results Mean fasting oxytocin levels were 1011.2 ± 52.3 pg/mL (SEM) and decreased at 30 and 60 minutes postmeal (P = 0.001 and P = 0.003, respectively). Mean oxytocin levels decreased19.6% ± 3.0% from baseline to nadir. Oxytocin area under the curve was lower in the early to midfollicular menstrual cycle phase (P = 0.0003) and higher in younger females (P = 0.002). The percent change in oxytocin (baseline to nadir) was associated with postprandial hunger (rs = -0.291, P = 0.03) and fullness (rs = 0.345, P = 0.009). These relations remained significant after controlling for calories consumed, menstrual cycle status, and age (P = 0.023 and P = 0.0001, respectively). Conclusions Peripheral oxytocin levels in females decrease after a mixed meal and are associated with appetite independent of menstrual phase, age, and caloric intake, suggesting that endogenous oxytocin levels may play a role in perceived hunger and satiety.

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Neither gender nor menstrual cycle phase influences exercise-induced lymphocyte apoptosis in untrained subjects

Applied Physiology Nutrition and Metabolism ◽

10.1139/h07-022 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 32 (3) ◽

pp. 481-486 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

James W. Navalta ◽

Darlene A. Sedlock ◽

Kyung-Shin Park ◽

Brian K. McFarlin

Keyword(s):

Menstrual Cycle ◽

Maximal Exercise ◽

Hormonal Contraceptives ◽

Cycle Phase ◽

Lymphocyte Apoptosis ◽

Menstrual Cycle Phase ◽

Apoptotic Response ◽

Exercise Induced

Lymphocyte apoptosis increases following maximal exercise. Estrogen hormones (E2) have been shown to protect lymphocytes from apoptosis in vitro, but it is unknown whether they can attenuate the apoptotic response to maximal exercise. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of menstrual cycle variation on exercise-induced lymphocyte apoptosis in humans following exercise. Untrained healthy young men and regularly menstruating women not using hormonal contraceptives volunteered for the study. Women performed a maximal effort treadmill test for VO2 max once in the follicular phase (FOL) and once in the mid-luteal phase (ML) of their cycles. Men completed two VO2 max tests with periods of time between tests matched to those of the female subjects. Blood was collected before (PRE) and immediately after exercise (POST), and analyzed for apoptotic lymphocytes and estradiol. E2 concentrations in women were significantly greater during ML versus during FOL, both PRE and POST (p < 0.0001). The percent of exercise-induced lymphocyte apoptosis was similar between women (23.2% ± 1.0%) and men (21.5% ± 0.4%). In women, the apoptotic response to maximal exercise was similar regardless of menstrual cycle phase (FOL = 23.7% ± 0.9%, ML = 22.7% ± 1.1%). Although elevated female sex hormones in vitro may exert anti-apoptotic effects, these data suggest that in vivo concentrations confer no protection to lymphocytes during exhaustive exercise.

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Systematic and Meta-Analytic Review of Research Examining the Impact of Menstrual Cycle Phase and Ovarian Hormones on Smoking and Cessation

Nicotine & Tobacco Research ◽

10.1093/ntr/ntu249 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 17 (4) ◽

pp. 407-421 ◽

Cited By ~ 51

Author(s):

A. H. Weinberger ◽

P. H. Smith ◽

S. S. Allen ◽

K. P. Cosgrove ◽

M. E. Saladin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Menstrual Cycle ◽

Ovarian Hormones ◽

Cycle Phase ◽

Menstrual Cycle Phase ◽

Analytic Review ◽

The Impact

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Comment on: “The Effects of Menstrual Cycle Phase on Exercise Performance in Eumenorrheic Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis” and “The Effects of Oral Contraceptives on Exercise Performance in Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis”

Sports Medicine ◽

10.1007/s40279-020-01384-8 ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Tze-Huan Lei ◽

Huixin Zheng ◽

Claire E. Badenhorst ◽

Toby Mündel

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Menstrual Cycle ◽

Oral Contraceptives ◽

Exercise Performance ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Cycle Phase ◽

Menstrual Cycle Phase

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The Impact of Menstrual Cycle Phase on Athletes’ Performance: A Narrative Review

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18041667 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (4) ◽

pp. 1667

Author(s):

Mikaeli Anne Carmichael ◽

Rebecca Louise Thomson ◽

Lisa Jane Moran ◽

Thomas Philip Wycherley

Keyword(s):

Menstrual Cycle ◽

Physical Performance ◽

Female Athletes ◽

Sport Performance ◽

Performance Outcomes ◽

Narrative Review ◽

Cycle Phase ◽

Menstrual Cycle Phase ◽

Objective Performance ◽

The Impact

The effect of the menstrual cycle on physical performance is being increasingly recognised as a key consideration for women’s sport and a critical field for further research. This narrative review explores the findings of studies investigating the effects of menstrual cycle phase on perceived and objectively measured performance in an athletic population. Studies examining perceived performance consistently report that female athletes identify their performance to be relatively worse during the early follicular and late luteal phases. Studies examining objective performance (using anaerobic, aerobic or strength-related tests) do not report clear, consistent effects of the impact of menstrual cycle phase on physical performance. Overall sport performance can be influenced by both perceived and physical factors. Hence, to optimise performance and management of eumenorrheic female athletes, there is a need for further research to quantify the impact of menstrual cycle phase on perceived and physical performance outcomes and to identify factors affecting variability in objective performance outcomes between studies.

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Ferritin status impact on hepcidin response to endurance exercise in physically active women along different phases of the menstrual cycle

Archivos de Medicina del Deporte ◽

10.18176/archmeddeporte.00022 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 38 (1) ◽

pp. 22-27

Author(s):

VM Alfaro Magallanes ◽

L Barba Moreno ◽

AB Peinado

Keyword(s):

Menstrual Cycle ◽

Follicular Phase ◽

Cycle Phase ◽

Menstrual Cycle Phase ◽

Sexual Hormones ◽

Physically Active ◽

Post Exercise ◽

Before And After ◽

Early Follicular Phase ◽

Response To Exercise

Serum ferritin has been proposed as a predictor of hepcidin concentrations in response to exercise. However, this fact has not been studied in physically-active women. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to analyse the hepcidin response at different ferritin status before and after running exercise in physically active females. Fifteen eumenorrheic women performed a 40-min running protocol at 75% of VO2peak speed in different menstrual cycle phases (early-follicular phase, mid-follicular phase and luteal phase). Blood samples were collected pre-exercise, 0h post-exercise and 3h post-exercise. For statistics, participants were divided into two groups according to their pre-exercise ferritin levels (<20 and ≥20 μg/L). Through menstrual cycle, hepcidin was lower in both early follicular phase (p=0.024; 64.81±22.48 ng/ml) and mid-follicular phase (p=0.007; 64.68±23.91 ng/ml) for <20 μg/L ferritin group, in comparison with ≥20 μg/L group (81.17±27.89 and 79.54±22.72 ng/ml, respectively). Hepcidin showed no differences between both ferritin groups in either pre-exercise, 0h post-exercise and 3h post-exercise. Additionally, no association between pre-exercise ferritin and hepcidin levels 3h post-exercise (r=-0.091; p=0.554) was found. Menstrual cycle phase appears to influence hepcidin levels depending on ferritin reserves. In particular, physically-active females with depleted ferritin reserves seems to present lower hepcidin levels during the early-follicular phase and mid-follicular phase. However, no association between ferritin and hepcidin levels was found in this study. Hence, ferritin levels alone may not be a good predictor of hepcidin response to exercise in this population. Multiple factors such as sexual hormones, training loads and menstrual bleeding must be taken into account.

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The Effects of Menstrual Cycle Phase on Elite Athlete Performance: A Critical and Systematic Review

Frontiers in Physiology ◽

10.3389/fphys.2021.654585 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Alice Meignié ◽

Martine Duclos ◽

Christopher Carling ◽

Emmanuel Orhant ◽

Peggy Provost ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Menstrual Cycle ◽

Female Athletes ◽

Elite Athletes ◽

Field Performance ◽

Scientific Publication ◽

Current Evidence ◽

Cycle Phase ◽

Performance Parameters ◽

Menstrual Cycle Phase ◽

The Impact

Background: In elite athletes, training individualization is widely recommended to optimize competitive performance. Previous studies have evidenced the impact of hormonal fluctuations on different performance parameters among female athletes. While consideration of menstrual cycle (MC) phases as a parameter in training individualization strategies is necessary, systematic evidence identifying such impacts in elite athletes should be evaluated.Objective: Systematically review publications that have investigated the link between MC phases and performance in elite female athletes. The overarching aim is to identify whether a consensus across studies exists enabling evidence-based recommendations for training individualization depending on menstrual cycle phases.Methods: This review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Three major scientific publication databases were searched from inception until November 3, 2020. Studies included focused on the influence of physiological or psychological parameters throughout at least one phase of the menstrual cycle of elite athletes.Results: A total of 780 search results were yielded and 26 references from a past bibliography were added manually. About 662 papers were reviewed of which 218 studies were assessed for eligibility. Of these, only seven (1%) precisely investigated the influence of a performance or physical parameter during at least one menstrual cycle phase. These seven studies included a total of 314 elite female participants (20.58 ± 1.91 years). Three used interviews, questionnaires or prospective analyses of reports. Four conducted several performance tests or included physical measures although only two performed tests during training or before/during competition. Among the seven studies, five performed hormonal testing through sampling of blood, saliva, or urine. The remaining relied on athletes’ menstruation diaries. The current evidence suggests a variable association between menstrual cycle and a few performance-related outcomes, such as endurance or power resistance, ligament stiffness, decision making skills, psychology, or competitiveness.Conclusion: Different sports performance-related parameters are affected during the menstrual cycle among elite athletes, but the parameters themselves and the magnitude and the direction of the effects are inconclusive. Additional longitudinal and prospective studies to systematically monitor on-field performance parameters are urgently required in order to enable recommendations and training individualization in female elite athletes.

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Effect of menstrual cycle phase on exercise performance of high-altitude native women at 3600 m

Journal of Experimental Biology ◽

10.1242/jeb.205.2.233 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 205 (2) ◽

pp. 233-239

Author(s):

Tom D. Brutsaert ◽

Hilde Spielvogel ◽

Esperanza Caceres ◽

Mauricio Araoz ◽

Robert T. Chatterton ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Menstrual Cycle ◽

High Altitude ◽

Exercise Performance ◽

Repeated Measures ◽

Randomized Study ◽

Submaximal Exercise ◽

Hormonal Contraceptives ◽

Cycle Phase ◽

Menstrual Cycle Phase ◽

Native Women

SUMMARY At sea level normally menstruating women show increased ventilation (V̇e) and hemodynamic changes due to increased progesterone (P) and estrogen (E2) levels during the mid-luteal (L) compared to the mid-follicular (F) phase of the ovarian cycle. Such changes may affect maximal exercise performance. This repeated-measures, randomized study, conducted at 3600 m, tests the hypothesis that a P-mediated increase in V̇e increases maximal oxygen consumption (V̇O2max) during the L phase relative to the F phase in Bolivian women, either born and raised at high altitude (HA), or resident at HA since early childhood. Subjects (N=30) enrolled in the study were aged 27.7±0.7 years (mean ± s.e.m.) and non-pregnant, non-lactating, relatively sedentary residents of La Paz, Bolivia, who were not using hormonal contraceptives. Mean salivary P levels at the time of the exercise tests were 63.3 pg ml–1 and 22.9 pg ml–1 for the L and F phases, respectively. Subset analyses of submaximal (N=23) and maximal (N=13) exercise responses were conducted only with women showing increased P levels from F to L and, in the latter case, with those also achieving true V̇O2max. Submaximal exercise V̇e and ventilatory equivalents were higher in the L phase (P<0.001). P levels were significantly correlated to the submaximal exercise V̇e (r=0.487, P=0.006). Maximal work output (W) was higher (approximately 5 %) during the L phase (P=0.044), but V̇O2max (l min–1) was unchanged (P=0.063). Post-hoc analyses revealed no significant relationship between changes in P levels and changes in V̇O2max from F to L (P=0.072). In sum, the menstrual cycle phase has relatively modest effects on ventilation, but no effect on V̇O2max of HA native women.

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