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Cardiorespiratory fitness, respiratory function and hemodynamic responses to maximal cycle ergometer exercise test in girls and boys aged 9–11 years: the PANIC Study

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Abstract

Purpose

We aimed to provide comprehensive data on and reference values for cardiorespiratory fitness, respiratory function and hemodynamic responses during and after maximal cycle ergometer test in children.

Methods

The participants were a population sample of 140 children (69 girls) aged 9–11 years. Heart rate (HR) and systolic blood pressure (SBP) were measured from pre-exercise rest to the end of recovery. Respiratory gases were measured directly by the breath-by-breath method. Peak workload, HR changes, peak oxygen uptake (VO2), peak oxygen pulse (O2 pulse), peak respiratory exchange ratio (RER) and the lowest ratio of ventilation and carbon dioxide output (VE/VCO2) during the exercise test in girls and boys were presented according to their distributions in 5 categories.

Results

HR decreased more during 4-min recovery in boys than in girls (76 vs. 67 beats/min, p < 0.001), whereas SBP decrease was similar in boys and girls (30 vs. 22 mmHg, p = 0.66). Boys had a higher peak VO2 per weight [51.9 vs. 47.6 ml/kg/min, p < 0.001] and per lean mass [67.3 vs. 63.0 ml/kg/min, p < 0.001] than girls. Peak O2 pulse per lean mass was higher in boys than in girls (0.34 vs. 0.31 ml/kg/beat, p < 0.001). There was no difference in the lowest VE/VCO2 during the test between boys and girls (28 vs. 29, p = 0.18).

Conclusions

The indicators of cardiorespiratory fitness were better in boys than in girls. These data enable the evaluation of cardiorespiratory function during and after maximal exercise test and the detection of children with abnormal values.

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Abbreviations

BIA:

Bioimpedance analysis

DXA:

Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry

HR:

Heart rate

O2 pulse :

Oxygen pulse

RER:

Respiratory exchange ratio

SBP:

Systolic blood pressure

VE:

Ventilation

VE/VCO2 :

Ratio of ventilation and carbon dioxide output

VO2 :

Oxygen uptake

W:

Watt

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Acknowledgments

We thank the voluntary children and their families who participated in this study. This work has been financially supported by grants from the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health of Finland, the Ministry of Education and Culture of Finland, the University of Eastern Finland, the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra, the Social Insurance Institution of Finland, the Finnish Cultural Foundation, the Juho Vainio Foundation, the Foundation for Paediatric Research, the Paulo Foundation, the Paavo Nurmi Foundation, the Diabetes Research Foundation, Kuopio University Hospital (EVO-funding number 5031343) and the Research Committee of the Kuopio University Hospital Catchment Area for the State Research Funding.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical standards

The study protocol was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Hospital District of Northern Savo. All children and their parents gave their informed written consent. The study was performed in accordance with the ethical standards laid down in the Declaration of Helsinki.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Biomedicine, Physiology, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio Campus, PO Box 1627, 70211, Kuopio, Finland

    Niina Lintu, Anna Viitasalo, Tuomo Tompuri, Aapo Veijalainen & Timo A. Lakka

  2. Institute of Dentistry, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio Campus, Kuopio, Finland

    Anna Viitasalo

  3. Department of Clinical Physiology and Nuclear Medicine, Kuopio University Hospital, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland

    Tuomo Tompuri, Mikko Hakulinen, Tomi Laitinen, Kai Savonen & Timo A. Lakka

  4. Kuopio Research Institute of Exercise Medicine, Kuopio, Finland

    Kai Savonen & Timo A. Lakka

Authors
  1. Niina Lintu
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  2. Anna Viitasalo
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  3. Tuomo Tompuri
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  8. Timo A. Lakka
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Niina Lintu.

Additional information

Communicated by Guido Ferretti.

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Lintu, N., Viitasalo, A., Tompuri, T. et al. Cardiorespiratory fitness, respiratory function and hemodynamic responses to maximal cycle ergometer exercise test in girls and boys aged 9–11 years: the PANIC Study. Eur J Appl Physiol 115, 235–243 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-014-3013-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-014-3013-8

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