Abstracts

Paper 1: A review of menstrual cycle verification methods used in research investigating exercise performance over the menstrual cycle
Paper 2: A three-step method for ovarian hormone phase verification in research studies
Paper 3: Pilot study on body composition in females: effects of the menstrual cycle
Paper 4: The role of physical activity in oral contraceptive use in Australian women
Paper 5: Oral contraceptives alter the muscle metaboreflex to isometric handgrip exercise
Paper 6: Effects of androgenicity in oral contraception on endurance training adaptation
63 Symposium: Oral contraception and the menstrual cycle in exercise science and sports medicine research
– should it be considered? Paper Title: A review of menstrual cycle verification methods used in research
investigating exercise performance over the menstrual cycle
X. Janse de Jonge 1 * • A. Han 2 • B. Thompson 1
1
Exercise & Sport Science, The University of Newcastle, Australia • 2 Faculty of Sports Science, Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany
Introduction: Eumenorrheic females are exposed to fluctuations in various hormones, such as estradiol (E 2 ), progesterone (P), luteinising hormone
(LH) etc. throughout the menstrual cycle (MC). Based on female steroid hormone fluctuations the MC can be divided into early follicular phase (low E 2
and P), late follicular (or ovulatory) phase (high E 2 and low P) and luteal phase (LP) (after ovulation, high E 2 and P). In active females there is a large
percentage of anovulation and luteal phase deficiency (LPD). To be able to draw conclusions about potential differences in exercise performance
between MC phases, it is paramount to accurately verify if participants are experiencing a regular ovulatory MC. The aim of this study was to review
recent research on exercise performance over the MC for methods of MC phase verification.
Methods: Databases (PubMed and SportDiscus) were searched for journal articles from 2006 till March 2015 with “menstrual” in the title and
exercise or performance in any field. The search resulted in a total of 341 articles (232 PubMed and 109 SportDiscus). Duplicates were removed
and articles were independently reviewed and selected by two authors (XJ & AH). Selection criteria included original research articles published in
English comparing a measure of exercise performance between natural MC phases.
Results: The twelve selected articles all counted days from onset of bleeding to identify MC phases. To estimate the day of ovulation six studies
included daily recording of basal body temperature (BBT). Two of these studies also measured urinary LH surge as a predictor of ovulation, while
one used urinary LH surge without BBT. Six studies measured serum levels of E 2 and P, while one only measured P. Of these seven studies, two
mentioned that measured hormone levels were in normal range without further details. The other five studies set a minimum limit for P during LP,
which ranged from 8 to 16 nmol·L -1 . Only three of the twelve studies actually excluded participants for not meeting MC phase verification
requirements.
Discussion: Out of the twelve studies selected, only five set a limit for LP verification and only three excluded participants who didn’t meet this limit.
Our findings highlight that many recent exercise science studies did not accurately verify MC phase and are very likely to have included anovulatory or
LPD participants. To improve research quality clear standards for MC verification should be set, including at least a minimum P limit for LP
verification.
Thursday 22 October
64 Symposium: Oral contraception and the menstrual cycle in exercise science and sports medicine research
– should it be considered? Paper Title: A three-step method for ovarian hormone phase verification
M. Schaumberg 1 * • D. Jenkins 1 • X. Janse De Jonge 2 • L. Emmerton 3 • T. Skinner 1
1
The School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences,The University of Queensland • 2 School of Environmental and Life Sciences, The University of Newcastle •
3
School of Pharmacy, Curtin University
Introduction: Both endogenous and exogenous ovarian hormones have been shown to significantly influence a number of physiological parameters
that in turn influence exercise capacity in females. Exercise research focusing on females remains limited and this may, in part at least, be due to
limitations and complexity in assessing and controlling for hormonal fluctuations of the menstrual cycle. The present study investigated the
effectiveness of a three-step method for the verification of menstrual cycle and oral contraceptive cycle phase.
Methods: Recreationally-active (PA>150min.week -1 ) women who were either long-term OC-users (OC; n=28; age=25±5years; mean±SD) or
experiencing regular natural menstrual cycles between 25-40 days (MC; n=26; age=26±5years; mean±SD) completed three retrospective months
of calendar-based menstrual cycle mapping to determine approximate cycle length and point of ovulation followed by a dual-energy x-ray
absorptiometry scan for assessment of body composition. To confirm the point of ovulation, home urinary ovulation prediction testing based on the
cycle length was completed and seven to 12 days following a positive ovulation prediction test a 6 mL venous blood was taken for measurement of
serum oestradiol, progestogen, testosterone and sex-hormone binding globulin (SHBG) concentrations. A minimum criterion of 6 nmol.L -1 serum
progestogen was set for confirmation of mid-luteal menstrual phase.
Results: Following serum hormone analysis, 100% of OC-users were successfully classified into the high-hormone phase and 70% of MC
participants were successfully classified into the mid-luteal phase (MC-NORM). OC had significantly higher SHBG (p