HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Free Full Text (PDF) Free All Versions of this Article: 99/3/979    most recent 00171.2005v1 Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Web of Science (14) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Timmons, B. W. Articles by Tarnopolsky, M. A. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Timmons, B. W. Articles by Tarnopolsky, M. A.

Influence of gender, menstrual phase, and oral contraceptive use on immunological changes in response to prolonged cycling

¹Children's Exercise and Nutrition Centre and ²Departments of Pediatrics and Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Submitted 10 February 2005 ; accepted in final form 4 May 2005

This study determined the influence of gender, menstrual phase (MP), and oral contraceptive (OC) use on immunological changes in response to endurance exercise. Twelve women and 11 men similar in age, aerobic power, and activity level cycled for 90 min at 65% maximal aerobic power. Women were OC users (n = 6) or nonusers (NOC) and cycled during the follicular (Fol) and the luteal (Lut) phases. Venous blood was collected before and after exercise to determine leukocyte counts, IL-6 concentrations, and cortisol. Higher resting levels of neutrophils (1.5-fold) and cortisol (2.5-fold) were found in OC vs. NOC and men. Exercise-induced immune cell count and IL-6 changes were similar between men and NOC, except for an 38% greater lymphocyte response in NOC vs. men (P = 0.07). Neutrophil, monocyte, and lymphocyte responses to exercise during Lut in OC were greater than during Fol and also greater than the responses in men (P 0.003). Changes in immune cell counts were consistently greater during Lut in OC vs. NOC, regardless of MP, but only neutrophil responses reached statistical significance (P = 0.01). The exercise-induced change in IL-6 was 80% greater in NOC vs. OC during Fol (P = 0.06), but it was similar between these groups during Lut. Cortisol changes with exercise were not different between groups or MP. These results highlight the necessity to control for gender, and in particular OC use, when designing studies evaluating exercise and immunology.

interleukin-6; lymphocytes

This article has been cited by other articles:

				B. K. Pedersen and M. A. Febbraio Muscle as an Endocrine Organ: Focus on Muscle-Derived Interleukin-6 Physiol Rev, October 1, 2008; 88(4): 1379 - 1406. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. W. Timmons Exercise and Immune Function in Children American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, January 1, 2007; 1(1): 59 - 66. [Abstract] [PDF]

				B. W. Timmons, M. J. Hamadeh, and M. A. Tarnopolsky No effect of short-term 17beta-estradiol supplementation in healthy men on systemic inflammatory responses to exercise Am J Physiol Regulatory Integrative Comp Physiol, August 1, 2006; 291(2): R285 - R290. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. W. Timmons, M. A. Tarnopolsky, and O. Bar-Or Sex-based effects on the distribution of NK cell subsets in response to exercise and carbohydrate intake in adolescents J Appl Physiol, May 1, 2006; 100(5): 1513 - 1519. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]