Ventilatory response to exercise in men and women 55 to 86 years of age

• Published in: American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine Vol. 149; no. 2 Pt 1; p. 408
• Main Authors: Poulin, M J, Cunningham, D A, Paterson, D H, Rechnitzer, P A, Ecclestone, N A, Koval, J J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.02.1994
• Subjects: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Aging - physiology; Carbon Dioxide - physiology; Exercise - physiology; Exercise Test; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Pulmonary Gas Exchange - physiology; Respiration - physiology; Respiratory Function Tests; Smoking - physiopathology
• ISSN: 1073-449X
• DOI: 10.1164/ajrccm.149.2.8306038

This study examines the relationship between minute ventilation (VE) and carbon dioxide production (VCO2) during exercise in men (n = 128) and women (n = 96), 55 to 86 yr of age. The means for the slopes of VE-VCO2 (delta VE/delta VCO2), examined for graded exercise below the ventilation threshold (TVE), increased significantly for men (p < 0.0001), from 25.0 +/- 0.7 (SEM) at mean age 58 (55 to 59) yr to 32.2 +/- 1.8 at mean age 83 (80 to 86) yr, but did not change for women (p = 0.0812), from 22.3 +/- 0.9 at mean age 58 (56-59) yr to 24.2 +/- 2.4 at mean age 79 (75 to 85) yr. A correlation that was significantly greater than zero was found between delta VE/delta VCO2 and age. The increase in delta VE/delta VCO2 was 0.29/yr for men (r = 0.47, p < 0.001) and 0.20/yr for women (r = 0.28, p = 0.0051). In both cases, the explained variance was small (men = 22%; women = 8%). VE, tidal volume (VT), and breathing frequency (fb) were examined at VCO2 = 1.0 L/min, the highest intensity that most older men and women could exercise without exceeding TVE. VE was significantly higher by 14% in men 80 to 86 yr of age (38.2 +/- 1.4 L/min) compared with men 55 to 59 yr of age (33.5 +/- 0.8), whereas there were no differences in VE for the women.