Abstract
Exercise-induced arterial hypoxemia (EIAH) is a recognized phenomenon in highly trained adults. Like adult athletes, prepubescent trained children may develop high-level metabolic demand but with a limited lung capacity in comparison with adults. The purpose of this investigation was to search for evidence of EIAH in prepubescent trained children. Twenty-four prepubescent (age: 10.3 ± 0.2 y) trained children (10.0 ± 0.7 h of weekly physical activity) performed pulmonary function tests and a graded maximal exercise test on a cycle ergometer. EIAH was defined as a drop of at least 4% from resting level arterial oxygen saturation (Sao2) measured by pulse oximetry. EIAH was observed in seven children. Forced vital capacity (FVC), ventilatory response to exercise (ΔV˙E/ΔV˙co2), and breathing reserve at maximal exercise were significantly lower, whereas tidal volume relative to FVC was higher in hypoxemic children than in nonhypoxemic children; weekly physical activity and maximal oxygen uptake were similar. Moreover, positive relationships were found between Sao2 at maximal exercise and breathing reserve (r = 0.56; p < 0.05) or volume relative to FVC (r = 0.70; p < 0.01). EIAH may occur in prepubescent trained children with a relatively low maximal oxygen uptake (42 mL · min−1 · kg−1); however, the mechanisms remain unclear and need to be investigated more accurately.
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Abbreviations
- BR:
-
breathing reserve at maximal exercise
- EIAH:
-
exercise-induced arterial hypoxemia
- f :
-
breathing frequency
- FEV1:
-
forced expiratory volume in 1 s
- FVC:
-
forced vital capacity
- MEF:
-
maximal expiratory flow
- MVV:
-
maximal voluntary ventilation
- Pao2:
-
partial arterial oxygen
- Petco2:
-
end-tidal carbon dioxide partial pressure
- Peto2:
-
end-tidal oxygen partial pressure
- Sao2:
-
arterial oxygen saturation
- V˙co2:
-
carbon dioxide output
- V˙o2:
-
oxygen uptake
- V˙o2max:
-
maximal oxygen uptake
- V˙E:
-
ventilation
- Vt:
-
tidal volume
- ΔV˙E/ΔV˙co2:
-
slope of ventilation versus CO2 output in progressive exercise
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Acknowledgements
We thank our subjects for enthusiastic participation in this study and Yannick Castannet, Audrey Koïtka, and Grégory Dupont for technical support.
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Nourry, C., Fabre, C., Bart, F. et al. Evidence of Exercise-Induced Arterial Hypoxemia in Prepubescent Trained Children. Pediatr Res 55, 674–681 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1203/01.PDR.0000114481.58902.FB
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/01.PDR.0000114481.58902.FB
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