Female Athlete Research Camp: A Unique Model for Conducting Research in High-Performance Female Athletes.
Journal
Medicine and science in sports and exercise
ISSN: 1530-0315
Titre abrégé: Med Sci Sports Exerc
Pays: United States
ID NLM: 8005433
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
01 Apr 2024
01 Apr 2024
Historique:
medline:
18
3
2024
pubmed:
18
12
2023
entrez:
18
12
2023
Statut:
ppublish
Résumé
The purpose of this study is to describe the implementation of a novel research protocol for conducting research with highly trained female athletes, including characterizing menstrual cycle (MC) function, hormonal profiles and symptoms of the participating athletes. Twenty-four Australian First Nation female Rugby League athletes completed this study, which involved 11 wk of cycle tracking, followed by attendance at a 5-wk training camp. Throughout the study, athletes completed a daily survey, reporting their MC function and any associated symptoms. During the training camp, athletes reported to the laboratory on three occasions and provided a venous blood sample, which was analyzed for reproductive hormones. For naturally cycling athletes (athleteNC, n = 11), this included phase 1, 2, and 4 of the menstrual cycle, whereas athletes using hormonal contraception (athleteHC; n = 13) were tested at three equally spaced time points in which consistent exogenous hormone provision occurred. In the athleteNC cohort, just one athlete reached criteria for classification as eumenorrheic, with five athletes showing evidence of MC dysfunction. The prevalence of symptoms on any given day was similar between athleteNC (33.7%) and athleteHC (22.9%; P = 0.376); however, more symptoms were reported in athleteNC, suggesting that they were more likely to report multiple symptoms. Regardless of MC function, there was a significant, positive association between bleeding and symptoms ( P < 0.001), where athletes were more likely to report one or more symptoms on bleeding (50.1%) compared with nonbleeding days (22.0%). We describe an innovative strategy to investigate the effect of MC function and MC phase in a high-performance sport environment, including approaches to address the challenges of undertaking research with female athletes with MC variability and those using exogenous hormonal therapies.
Identifiants
pubmed: 38109054
doi: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000003354
pii: 00005768-990000000-00427
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
706-716Informations de copyright
Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of the American College of Sports Medicine.
Références
Cowley ES, Olenick AA, McNulty KL, Ross EZ. “Invisible sportswomen”: the sex data gap in sport and exercise science research. Women Sport Phys Act J . 2021;29(2):146–51.
Kuikman MA, Smith ES, McKay AKA, et al. Fueling the female athlete: auditing her representation in studies of acute carbohydrate intake for exercise. Med Sci Sports Exerc . 2023;55(3):569–80.
Smith ES, McKay AKA, Kuikman M, et al. Managing female athlete health: auditing the representation of female versus male participants among research in supplements to manage diagnosed micronutrient issues. Nutrients . 2022;14(16):3372.
Burke LM, Sharma AP, Heikura IA, et al. Crisis of confidence averted: impairment of exercise economy and performance in elite race walkers by ketogenic low carbohydrate, high fat (LCHF) diet is reproducible. PLoS One . 2020;15(6):e0234027.
Burke LM, Whitfield J, Heikura IA, et al. Adaptation to a low carbohydrate high fat diet is rapid but impairs endurance exercise metabolism and performance despite enhanced glycogen availability. J Physiol . 2021;599(3):771–90.
Whitfield J, Burke LM, McKay AKA, et al. Acute ketogenic diet and ketone ester supplementation impairs race walk performance. Med Sci Sports Exerc . 2021;53(4):776–84.
McKay AKA, Stellingwerff T, Smith ES, et al. Defining training and performance caliber: a participant classification framework. Int J Sports Physiol Perform . 2022;17(2):317–31.
Australian Bureau of Statistics (2021). Estimates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians: ABS Website, Accessed 2nd August 2023. Available from: Available from: https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-peoples/estimates-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-australians/latest-release#cite-window1
Elliott-Sale KJ, Minahan CL, de Jonge XAKJ, et al. Methodological considerations for studies in sport and exercise science with women as participants: a working guide for standards of practice for research on women. Sports Med . 2021;51(5):843–61.
McNamara A, Harris R, Minahan C. ‘That time of the month’ … for the biggest event of your career! Perception of menstrual cycle on performance of Australian athletes training for the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med . 2022;8(2):e001300.
Martin D, Sale C, Cooper SB, Elliott-Sale KJ. Period prevalence and perceived side effects of hormonal contraceptive use and the menstrual cycle in elite athletes. Int J Sports Physiol Perform . 2018;13(7):926–32.
Ireland S, Narjic CW, Belton S, Saggers S, McGrath A. ‘Jumping around’: exploring young women's behaviour and knowledge in relation to sexual health in a remote aboriginal Australian community. Cult Health Sex . 2015;17(1):1–16.
Clarke AC, Bruinvels G, Julian R, Inge P, Pedlar CR, Govus AD. Hormonal contraceptive use in football codes in Australia. Front Sports Act Living . 2021;3:634866.
McNulty KL, Ansdell P, Goodall S, et al. The symptoms experienced by naturally menstruating women and oral contraceptive pill users and their perceived effects on exercise performance and recovery time posttraining. Women Sport Phys Act J . 2023;32(1):wspaj.2023-0016.
Dugan C, Scott C, Abeysiri S, Baikady RR, Richards T. The need to screen for anemia in exercising women. Medicine (Baltimore) . 2021;100(39):e27271.
Eckenrode J. Impact of chronic and acute stressors on daily reports of mood. J Pers Soc Psychol . 1984;46(4):907–18.
Bunt JC. Metabolic actions of estradiol: significance for acute and chronic exercise responses. Med Sci Sports Exerc . 1990;22(3):286–90.
Lowe DA, Baltgalvis KA, Greising SM. Mechanisms behind estrogen's beneficial effect on muscle strength in females. Exerc Sport Sci Rev . 2010;38(2):61–7.
Hackney AC, Koltun KJ, Williett HN. Menstrual cycle hormonal changes: estradiol-β-17 and progesterone interactions on exercise fat oxidation. Endocrine . 2022;76(1):240–2.
Frankovich RJ, Lebrun CM. Menstrual cycle, contraception and performance. Clin Sports Med . 2000;19(2):251–71.
Costello JT, Bieuzen F, Bleakley CM. Where are all the female participants in sports and exercise medicine research? Eur J Sport Sci . 2014;14(8):847–51.
Smith ES, McKay AKA, Ackerman KE, et al. Methodology review: a protocol to audit the representation of female athletes in sports science and sports medicine research. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab . 2022;32(2):114–27.
Moore IS, Crossley KM, Bo K, et al. Female athlete health domains: a supplement to the International Olympic Committee consensus statement on methods for recording and reporting epidemiological data on injury and illness in sport. Br J Sports Med . 2023;57(18):1164–74.