Sex Differences in Cardiovascular Adaptations Following Aerobic Exercise Training Programs: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.
Level 1 - systematic review of randomized trials
Systematic review and meta-analysis of aerobic exercise intervention studies.
PubMed 39653240 · doi:10.1016/j.cjca.2024.12.005
What was done
A systematic review and meta-analysis of five electronic databases (inception to June 2024) evaluated sex differences in cardiovascular adaptations following aerobic exercise training in healthy adults. Meta-analyses were conducted on left ventricular (LV) mass, LV end-diastolic volume (LVEDV), LV end-systolic volume (LVESV), and LV ejection fraction (LVEF). Other extracted variables included peak oxygen uptake, heart rate, arteriovenous oxygen difference, blood pressure, stroke volume, and cardiac output.
What was found
Aerobic exercise resulted in a significantly greater increase in LVEDV in males compared to females (mean difference [MD] = 7.67, 95% CI: 2.75 to 12.59, P = 0.002). No significant sex differences were found for LV mass (standardized mean difference = -0.01, 95% CI: -0.29 to 0.27, P = 0.97), LVESV (MD = 1.85, 95% CI: -3.45 to 7.10, P = 0.5), or LVEF (MD = -0.9, 95% CI: -3.26 to 1.46, P = 0.45). No other sex differences were observed across other outcomes. Overall risk of bias was low and quality of evidence was moderate.
Why it matters
This review clarifies that while aerobic training induces greater ventricular volume expansion in healthy men relative to women, adaptations in cardiac mass and functional indices do not differ by sex.
Limits
The abstract does not report the number of included studies, sample sizes, training parameters (duration, intensity), or participant age. Meta-analyses were only performed for four LV outcomes.
Cited by
- supports Men and women exhibit very similar physiological responses to exercise training.