Does intermittent hypoxia increase erythropoiesis in professional cyclists during a 3-week race?

In this study we examined the effects of intermittent hypoxia exposure (IHE) in a group of professional cyclists (n = 6; age 26 +/- 1 yr) competing in the 2001 Vuelta a España. After each daily stage, treated subjects received four 5-min bouts of normobaric IHE (mean O2 concentration of 12.6%, simul...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Authors: Villa Vicente, José Gerardo, Lucía Mulas, Alejandro, Marroyo, J. A., Jiménez, F., García López, Juan, Córdova, Alfredo
Format: article
Publication Date:2005
Country:España
Institution:Universidad Europea (UEM)
Repository:ABACUS. Repositorio de Producción Científica
Language:English
OAI Identifier:oai:abacus.universidadeuropea.com:11268/5519
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/11268/5519
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Ciclismo - Aspectos fisiológicos
Medicina deportiva - Ciclismo
Medicina deportiva
Description
Summary:In this study we examined the effects of intermittent hypoxia exposure (IHE) in a group of professional cyclists (n = 6; age 26 +/- 1 yr) competing in the 2001 Vuelta a España. After each daily stage, treated subjects received four 5-min bouts of normobaric IHE (mean O2 concentration of 12.6%, simulating a mean altitude of 4,000 m) interspersed with 5-min bouts of breathing hotel room air (normoxia) until completing a total IHE of 20-min duration. The primary outcome, compared to a control group of similar characteristics not receiving IHE (n = 5; age 25 +/- 1 yr), was the % increase in erythropoietin (Epo) from the beginning to the end of the Vuelta. Statistical analysis showed that Epo increase tended to be higher (p = 0.052) in the IHE group than in controls (37.4 +/- 5.8% vs. -4.4 +/- 19.5%, respectively). However IHE had no effect on reticulocytes or erythrocyte count (p > 0.05).