Cardiovascular response to short-term fasting in menstrual phases in young women: an observational study

Abstract

BackgroundMenstrual cycle-related symptoms are an important health issue for many women, and some may affect cardiac autonomic regulation. In the present study, we evaluated the cardiovascular and physiological stress response to 12-h short-term fasting in the menstrual phases of healthy young women.MethodsWe performed a randomized crossover study. Subjects were seven female university students (age: 22.3 ± 1.0 years). The experiments comprised four sessions: meal intake in the follicular phase, meal intake in the luteal phase, fasting in the follicular phase, and fasting in the luteal phase. All subjects participated in a total of four experimental sessions during two successive phases (follicular and luteal phase in the same menstrual cycle, or luteal phase and follicular phase in the next menstrual cycle) according to a randomized crossover design. R-R intervals were continuously recorded before and after meals, and power spectral analysis of heart rate variability was performed. Other physiological data were obtained before and 20, 40, 60, and 80 min after meal intake or after the corresponding time point of meal intake (fasting in the follicular or luteal phase).ResultsHeart rate decreased during fasting in the follicular and luteal phases. High frequency power increased during fasting in the follicular and luteal phases. In addition, salivary cortisol concentrations decreased during fasting in the luteal phase.ConclusionsIn the present study, short-term fasting resulted in higher parasympathetic activity and lower cortisol levels in the luteal phase in these young women. These results indicate a possibility to produce an anti-stress effect in the luteal phase, which may reduce menstrual symptoms.

Validity of Self-Reported Body Mass, Height, and Body Mass Index in Female Students: The Role of Physical Activity Level, Menstrual Cycle Phase, and Time of Day

“…In addition, the validity of the self-reported measures was related to the menstrual cycle phase. The discrepancy with previous research showing no relationship relating to menstrual cycle in students 18–24 years [28] should be attributed to the differing choice of specific phases for physiological characteristics [29] to the present study. From a physiological point of view, energy intake and expenditure increases in the luteal phase compared to the follicular phase leading to increased frequency of cravings for foods [30].…”

A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Within-Person Changes in Cardiac Vagal Activity across the Menstrual Cycle: Implications for Female Health and Future Studies

“…A total of 45 studies published between the year 1995 and October 2018 were included in the systematic review [40,42,43,44,45,49,50,51,52,53,54,57,58,59,60,61,62,63,64,65,66,67,68,69,70,71,72,73,74,75,76,77,78,79,80,81,82,83,84,85,86,87,88,89,90]. Only one of the 45 studies was published in Russian [43]; all others were written in English.…”

“…Out of these 38 studies, only one study [57] did not compare a phase of the follicular half with a phase of the luteal half, but assessed the menstrual and the ovulatory phase (two follicular phases). The remaining 37 studies reporting quantitative data could be included in the meta-analytic comparison of the follicular and the luteal phase which is based on 1004 females [40,42,43,44,45,50,52,53,54,58,59,61,62,63,64,65,66,67,68,70,71,72,73,74,75,76,77,78,80,82,84,85,86,87,88,89,90].…”

“…Since most other studies recorded the CVA of their subjects during the day, the data from the day shift were included in the meta-analysis for greater comparability. Ohara et al [45] examined cycle-dependent CVA fluctuations in their participants once in an eating and once in a fasting trial. In both trials, baseline data were collected before eating and fasting began.…”

Fed and fasted states on heart rate variability, hemodynamic heart rate and blood pressure in adults submitted to moderate aerobic exercise

“…It was reported that reduced dietary fat intake increased parasympathetic activity in women [3] and reduced blood pressure in individuals with abdominal obesity [4]. Additionally, effects of 12 h of fasting on heart rate variability and blood pressure during the menstrual phases in women were previously demonstrated [5]. Furthermore, de Jonge et al [6] reported, in overweight individuals, improved vagal activity and reduced sympathetic activity after six months of caloric restriction combined with exercise, despite weight loss comparable to caloric restriction only.…”