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Is the Ventilatory Efficiency in Endurance Athletes Different?—Findings from the NOODLE Study

2024; Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute; Volume: 13; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.3390/jcm13020490

2077-0383

Przemysław Seweryn Kasiak, Tomasz Kowalski, Kinga Rębiś, Andrzej Klusiewicz, Maria Ładyga, Dorota Sadowska, Adrian Wilk, Szczepan Wiecha, Marcin Barylski, Adam Rafał Poliwczak, Piotr Wierzbiński, Artur Mamcarz, Daniel Śliż,

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Research

Background: Ventilatory efficiency (VE/VCO2) is a strong predictor of cardiovascular diseases and defines individuals’ responses to exercise. Its characteristics among endurance athletes (EA) remain understudied. In a cohort of EA, we aimed to (1) investigate the relationship between different methods of calculation of VE/VCO2 and (2) externally validate prediction equations for VE/VCO2. Methods: In total, 140 EA (55% males; age = 22.7 ± 4.6 yrs; BMI = 22.6 ± 1.7 kg·m−2; peak oxygen uptake = 3.86 ± 0.82 L·min−1) underwent an effort-limited cycling cardiopulmonary exercise test. VE/VCO2 was first calculated to ventilatory threshold (VE/VCO2-slope), as the lowest 30-s average (VE/VCO2-Nadir) and from whole exercises (VE/VCO2-Total). Twelve prediction equations for VE/VCO2-slope were externally validated. Results: VE/VCO2-slope was higher in females than males (27.7 ± 2.6 vs. 26.1 ± 2.0, p < 0.001). Measuring methods for VE/VCO2 differed significantly in males and females. VE/VCO2 increased in EA with age independently from its type or sex (β = 0.066–0.127). Eleven equations underestimated VE/VCO2-slope (from −0.5 to −3.6). One equation overestimated VE/VCO2-slope (+0.2). Predicted and observed measurements differed significantly in nine models. Models explained a low amount of variance in the VE/VCO2-slope (R2 = 0.003–0.031). Conclusions: VE/VCO2-slope, VE/VCO2-Nadir, and VE/VCO2-Total were significantly different in EA. Prediction equations for the VE/VCO2-slope were inaccurate in EA. Physicians should be acknowledged to properly assess cardiorespiratory fitness in EA.