Abstract
Aging related changes in pulmonary function may make older women (OW) more susceptible to expiratory flow limitation (EFL) and lead to higher dyspnoea ratings during exercise relative to young women (YW). Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to compare sensory responses and EFL susceptibility and magnitude in 8 YW (29 ± 7 years) and 8 healthy OW (64 ± 3 years) matched for percentage-predicted forced vital capacity (% predicted FVC) and % predicted forced expiratory volume in 1 s. EFL was calculated as the percent overlap between tidal flow–volume loops during maximal exercise and the maximal expiratory flow–volume (MEFV) curve. Peak oxygen consumption (V′O2peak) was lower in the OW compared to the YW (29.4 ± 3.6 vs. 49.1 ± 8.9 ml kg−1 min−1, P < 0.05) as was maximal ventilation (73.7 ± 18.4 vs. 108.7 ± 14.1 l min−1, P < 0.05). EFL at maximal exercise was present in 2 of 8 YW and in 5 of 8 OW. There were no significant differences in the magnitude of EFL between OW (23 ± 24, range: 0–69 %EFL) and YW (9 ± 18, range: 0–46 %EFL, P = 0.21). The magnitude of EFL in OW was inversely related to % predicted FVC (r = −0.69, P = 0.06), but this relationships was not observed in the YW (r = −0.23, P = 0.59). The OW consistently reported greater dyspnoea and leg discomfort for any given absolute work rate, but not when work was expressed as a percentage of maximum. Reduced ventilatory and exercise capacities may cause OW to be more susceptible to EFL during exercise and experience greater dyspnoea relative to YW for a standardized physical task.
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Acknowledgments
We thank our subjects for their enthusiastic participation. This study was supported by the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the British Columbia Lung Association. J. A. Guenette was supported by graduate scholarships from the NSERC, the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research (MSFHR) and the Sir James Lougheed Award of Distinction and has received post doctoral fellowships from NSERC, the John Alexander Stewart Fellowship (Queen’s University), the Canadian Thoracic Society and the Canadian Lung Association. S. S. Wilkie was supported by a Canada Graduate Scholarship from NSERC. A.W. Sheel was supported by a New Investigator award from the Canadian Institutes for Health Research.
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Communicated by Susan A. Ward.
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Wilkie, S.S., Guenette, J.A., Dominelli, P.B. et al. Effects of an aging pulmonary system on expiratory flow limitation and dyspnoea during exercise in healthy women. Eur J Appl Physiol 112, 2195–2204 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-011-2191-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-011-2191-x