Sex Differences in the Pulmonary System Influence the Integrative Response to Exercise

Paolo B Dominelli; Yannick Molgat-Seon; A William Sheel

doi:10.1249/JES.0000000000000188

Sex Differences in the Pulmonary System Influence the Integrative Response to Exercise

Exerc Sport Sci Rev. 2019 Jul;47(3):142-150. doi: 10.1249/JES.0000000000000188.

Authors

Paolo B Dominelli^{1

2}, Yannick Molgat-Seon^{3

4}, A William Sheel⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Anesthesia, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN.
² Department of Kinesiology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada.
³ Centre for Heart and Lung Innovation, St. Paul's Hospital.
⁴ Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Medicine, and.
⁵ School of Kinesiology, Faculty of Education, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.

PMID: 30817330
DOI: 10.1249/JES.0000000000000188

Abstract

Healthy women have proportionally smaller lungs and airways compared with height-matched men. These anatomical sex-based differences result in greater mechanical ventilatory constraints and may influence the integrative response to exercise. Our review will examine this hypothesis in healthy humans in the context of dynamic whole-body exercise.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Aging / physiology
Body Size
Dyspnea / physiopathology
Exercise / physiology*
Female
Gonadal Steroid Hormones / physiology
Humans
Hypoxia / physiopathology
Male
Muscle Fatigue / physiology
Oxygen / physiology
Physical Fitness / physiology
Regional Blood Flow
Respiratory Muscles / physiology
Respiratory Physiological Phenomena*
Respiratory System / anatomy & histology*
Sex Characteristics*
Work of Breathing / physiology

Substances

Gonadal Steroid Hormones
Oxygen