The Effect of Chronic Habitual Exercise on Oxygen Carrying Capacity and Blood Compartment Volumes in Older Adults

Overview

Journal J Appl Physiol (1985)

Publisher American Physiological Society

Date 2024 Feb 29

PMID 38420680

Authors

Denis J Wakeham

Christopher M Hearon Jr

Benjamin D Levine

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Absolute total hemoglobin mass (tHbmass) and blood compartment volumes are often considered to be higher in endurance athletes compared with nonathletes, yet little data support a fitness effect in older age. Therefore, we measured tHbmass and blood compartment volumes (carbon monoxide rebreathing) in 77 healthy individuals (23% female; aged, 60-87 yr). Participants were recruited into groups based upon their lifelong (>25 yr) exercise "dose": ) 15 sedentary individuals, <2 sessions/wk; ) 25 casual exercisers, 2-3 sessions/wk; ) 24 committed exercisers, 4-5 sessions/wk; and ) 13 competitive Masters athletes, 6-7 sessions/wk, plus regular competitions. Absolute (L/min) and relative (mL/kg/min) V̇o were higher with increasing exercise "dose" ( = 0.0005 and < 0.0001, respectively). Hemoglobin concentration, hematocrit, and absolute tHbmass and blood compartment volumes were not significantly different between groups (all, > 0.1328). When scaled to body mass, tHbmass (Sedentary, 9.2 ± 1.7 mL/kg; Casual, 9.2 ± 1.3; Committed, 10.2 ± 1.4; Competitive, 11.5 ± 1.4, ANOVA < 0.0001) and blood volume were significantly different between groups [Sedentary, 63.4 (59.2-68.5) mL/kg; Casual, 67.3 (64.4-72.6); Committed, 73.5 (67.5-80.2); Competitive, 83.4 (78.9-88.6), ANOVA < 0.0001], whereby all values were highest in Masters athletes. However, when scaled to fat-free mass (FFM), tHbmass and blood compartment volumes were greater in Competitive compared with Casual exercisers (all, < 0.0340) and tHbmass and erythrocyte volume were also higher in Committed compared with Casual exercisers (both, < 0.0134). In conclusion, absolute tHbmass and blood compartment volumes are not different between groups, with dose-dependent differences only among exercisers when scaled for FFM, with the highest tHbmass and blood compartment volumes in competitive Masters athletes. We observed that absolute oxygen carrying capacity (total hemoglobin mass, tHbmass) and blood compartment volumes were not associated with lifelong exercise dose. However, hematological adaptations associated with lifelong habitual exercise are only present among exercisers, whereby competitive Masters athletes have a greater oxygen carrying capacity (tHbmass) and expanded blood compartment volumes when scaled to fat-free mass.

References

Woodson R, Wills R, Lenfant C . Effect of acute and established anemia on O2 transport at rest, submaximal and maximal work. J Appl Physiol Respir Environ Exerc Physiol. 1978; 44(1):36-43. DOI: 10.1152/jappl.1978.44.1.36. View

Nagashima K, Mack G, Haskell A, Nishiyasu T, Nadel E . Mechanism for the posture-specific plasma volume increase after a single intense exercise protocol. J Appl Physiol (1985). 1999; 86(3):867-73. DOI: 10.1152/jappl.1999.86.3.867. View

Montero D, Rauber S, Goetze J, Lundby C . Reduction in central venous pressure enhances erythropoietin synthesis: role of volume-regulating hormones. Acta Physiol (Oxf). 2016; 218(2):89-97. DOI: 10.1111/apha.12708. View

Landgraff H, Hallen J . Longitudinal Training-related Hematological Changes in Boys and Girls from Ages 12 to 15 yr. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2020; 52(9):1940-1947. DOI: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000002338. View

Wilmore J, BEHNKE A . An anthropometric estimation of body density and lean body weight in young men. J Appl Physiol. 1969; 27(1):25-31. DOI: 10.1152/jappl.1969.27.1.25. View

Gillen C, Lee R, Mack G, Tomaselli C, Nishiyasu T, Nadel E . Plasma volume expansion in humans after a single intense exercise protocol. J Appl Physiol (1985). 1991; 71(5):1914-20. DOI: 10.1152/jappl.1991.71.5.1914. View

Montero D, Lundby C . Regulation of Red Blood Cell Volume with Exercise Training. Compr Physiol. 2018; 9(1):149-164. DOI: 10.1002/cphy.c180004. View

Otto J, Plumb J, Clissold E, Kumar S, Wakeham D, Schmidt W . Hemoglobin concentration, total hemoglobin mass and plasma volume in patients: implications for anemia. Haematologica. 2017; 102(9):1477-1485. PMC: 5685237. DOI: 10.3324/haematol.2017.169680. View

Zelenkova I, Zotkin S, Korneev P, Koprov S, Grushin A . Comprehensive overview of hemoglobin mass and blood volume in elite athletes across a wide range of different sporting disciplines. J Sports Med Phys Fitness. 2018; 59(2):179-186. DOI: 10.23736/S0022-4707.18.08018-0. View

10.

Donnelly S . Why is erythropoietin made in the kidney? The kidney functions as a 'critmeter' to regulate the hematocrit. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2004; 543:73-87. DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4419-8997-0_6. View

11.

Nadler S, Hidalgo J, Bloch T . Prediction of blood volume in normal human adults. Surgery. 2011; 51(2):224-32. View

12.

Gore C, Rodriguez F, Truijens M, Townsend N, Stray-Gundersen J, Levine B . Increased serum erythropoietin but not red cell production after 4 wk of intermittent hypobaric hypoxia (4,000-5,500 m). J Appl Physiol (1985). 2006; 101(5):1386-93. DOI: 10.1152/japplphysiol.00342.2006. View

13.

Hellsten Y, Nyberg M . Cardiovascular Adaptations to Exercise Training. Compr Physiol. 2016; 6(1):1-32. DOI: 10.1002/cphy.c140080. View

14.

Suetta C, Kanstrup I . Haematological status in elite long-distance runners: influence of body composition. Clin Physiol. 1996; 16(6):563-74. DOI: 10.1111/j.1475-097x.1996.tb00734.x. View

15.

Schmidt W, Heinicke K, Rojas J, Gomez J, Serrato M, Mora M . Blood volume and hemoglobin mass in endurance athletes from moderate altitude. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2002; 34(12):1934-40. DOI: 10.1097/00005768-200212000-00012. View

16.

Parker Jones P, Davy K, DeSouza C, Tanaka H . Total blood volume in endurance-trained postmenopausal females: relation to exercise mode and maximal aerobic capacity. Acta Physiol Scand. 1999; 166(4):327-33. DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-201x.1999.00577.x. View

17.

Schmidt W, Prommer N . Impact of alterations in total hemoglobin mass on VO 2max. Exerc Sport Sci Rev. 2010; 38(2):68-75. DOI: 10.1097/JES.0b013e3181d4957a. View

18.

Hopper M, Coggan A, Coyle E . Exercise stroke volume relative to plasma-volume expansion. J Appl Physiol (1985). 1988; 64(1):404-8. DOI: 10.1152/jappl.1988.64.1.404. View

19.

Stembridge M, Williams A, Gasho C, Dawkins T, Drane A, Villafuerte F . The overlooked significance of plasma volume for successful adaptation to high altitude in Sherpa and Andean natives. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2019; 116(33):16177-16179. PMC: 6697886. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1909002116. View

20.

Bonne T, Doucende G, Fluck D, Jacobs R, Nordsborg N, Robach P . Phlebotomy eliminates the maximal cardiac output response to six weeks of exercise training. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 2014; 306(10):R752-60. DOI: 10.1152/ajpregu.00028.2014. View