VE/VCO2 slope in lean and overweight women and its relationship to lean leg mass

Abstract

Ventilation/carbon dioxide production (VE/VCO2slope) is used clinically to determine cardiorespiratory fitness and morbidity in heart failure (HF). Previously, we demonstrated that lower lean leg mass is associated with high VE/VCO2slope during exercise in HF. In healthy individuals, we evaluated 1) whether VE/VCO2slope differed between lean and overweight women and 2) the relationship between lean leg mass and VE/VCO2slope in overweight sedentary (OWS), overweight trained (OWTR) and lean, trained (LTR) women.MethodsGas exchange and ventilation were collected during a treadmill peak oxygen uptake test (VO2peak) in 40 women [26 OWS (29 ± 7 yrs., mean ± SD), 7 OWTR (33 ± 5 yrs) and 7 LTR (26 ± 6 yrs)]. Body composition was measured by dual X-ray absorptiometry.ResultsVO2peak was highest in LTR (46.6 ± 8 ml/kg/min) compared with OWTR (38.1 ± 4.9 ml/kg/min) and OWS women (25.3 ± 4.8 ml/kg/min, p < 0.05). Lean leg mass was highest in OWTR and lowest in LTR women (p < 0.05). VE/VCO2slope was similar between groups (p > 0.05). Higher lean leg mass was associated with lower VE/VCO2slope in overweight women (OWS + OWTR: r = −0.55, p < 0.001), contrasting with higher VE/VCO2slope in LTR women (r = 0.86, p < 0.001).ConclusionsThese findings suggest VE/VCO2slope may not differentiate between low and high cardiorespiratory fitness in healthy individuals and muscle mass may play a role in determining the VE/VCO2slope, independent of disease.

Women with metabolic syndrome show similar health benefits from high-intensity interval training than men

“…However, increases in the VE/VCO 2 slope values have been associated with unfavorable prognosis in patients with cardiovascular disease, particularly heart failure [53]. On the other hand, VE/VCO 2 slope was not useful to discriminate higher vs. lower values of VO 2MAX in healthy women with overweight [54]. In addition, Kemps et al [51], did not find post-intervention differences in VE/VCO 2 slope between a group of sedentary patients with stable CHF who remained sedentary and a group of individuals with similar characteristics trained with a combination of interval intensity cycling and muscle resistance training.…”

Aerobic exercise capacity is normal in obesity with or without metabolic syndrome

“…The ratio between minute ventilation and carbon dioxide production (VE/VCO 2 ) is a measure of cardiorespiratory efficiency and leads prognosis in cardiovascular disorders [23,[26][27][28]. VE/VCO 2 slope is independent of subject effort and BMI [29] and has been explored in different studies on lean and obese patients [15,[29][30][31][32]. Accordingly, we reported normal VE/VCO 2 slope.…”

The respiratory and metabolic responses for determinants of exercise endurance time in constant-load exercise test in healthy adult volunteers, prospective cross-sectional design

“…Furthermore, Keller-Ross et al reported that minimum VE/V CO2 and RER affected by increasing V CO2 were related to the type of bers in skeletal muscle. 20 Therefore, it was suggested that the increased RER and minimum VE/V CO2 in the not-completed group may have been caused by reduced skeletal muscle, which resulted in decreased exercise endurance time in CLET, and that the minimum VE/V CO2 was the most accurate variable to predict exercise endurance time in logistic regression analysis.…”