ijerph-logo

Journal Browser

Journal Browser

Hypoxia and Exercise: Effects on Health and Performance

A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Global Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2020) | Viewed by 15757

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
LFE Research Group, Department of Health and Human Performance, School of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences-INEF, Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Interests: women’s health; physical activity and health in postmenopausal women; active aging; physiology of the neuro-muscular system; exercise and physical activity; strength training; whole-body vibration training, sleep quality, and sarcopenia
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

It is well-established that exercise training under O2-deprived environments can improve physical fitness due to erythropoiesis stimulation that provokes the improvement of oxygen transport. In addition, exercise in hypoxia that activates the hypoxia-inducible factor may play an essential role in effective metabolism regulation (mass maintenance, glucose homeostasis, and liver metabolism) improving glucose intake and transport, glycolysis, lactate production to provide ATP, and oxygen transport and satiety, among others. Additionally, lipid metabolism can be further enhanced when exercise training is conducted in O2-deprived environments. For these reasons, several recent studies have used hypoxic training as a new therapeutic strategy to improve the symptoms of a range of cardiovascular, metabolic, and pulmonary diseases such as hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, obesity, sarcopenia, coronary artery disease or multiple sclerosis. Therefore, in this Special Issue, we are looking for original investigations describing how hypoxic environment during active exercise of passive exposure influences adaptive responses in health or physical fitness markers. Research articles on topics associated with the application of hypoxia on health and performance are invited.

Dr. Domingo Jesús Ramos Campo
Prof. Dr. Jacobo A. Rubio-Arias
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • altitude
  • chronic disease
  • hypoxic conditioning
  • hypoxic exposure
  • hypoxic training
  • obesity
  • sarcopenia

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (4 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

10 pages, 591 KiB  
Article
Effect of a Single Session of Intermittent Hypoxia on Erythropoietin and Oxygen-Carrying Capacity
by Mercedes J. Nagel, Caitlin P. Jarrard and Sophie Lalande
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(19), 7257; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17197257 - 4 Oct 2020
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2911
Abstract
Intermittent hypoxia, defined as alternating bouts of breathing hypoxic and normoxic air, has the potential to improve oxygen-carrying capacity through an erythropoietin-mediated increase in hemoglobin mass. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of a single session of intermittent hypoxia [...] Read more.
Intermittent hypoxia, defined as alternating bouts of breathing hypoxic and normoxic air, has the potential to improve oxygen-carrying capacity through an erythropoietin-mediated increase in hemoglobin mass. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of a single session of intermittent hypoxia on erythropoietin levels and hemoglobin mass in young healthy individuals. Nineteen participants were randomly assigned to an intermittent hypoxia group (Hyp, n = 10) or an intermittent normoxia group (Norm, n = 9). Intermittent hypoxia consisted of five 4-min hypoxic cycles at a targeted arterial oxygen saturation of 90% interspersed with 4-min normoxic cycles. Erythropoietin levels were measured before and two hours following completion of the protocol. Hemoglobin mass was assessed the day before and seven days after exposure to intermittent hypoxia or normoxia. As expected, the intermittent hypoxia group had a lower arterial oxygen saturation than the intermittent normoxia group during the intervention (Hyp: 89 ± 1 vs. Norm: 99 ± 1%, p < 0.01). Erythropoietin levels did not significantly increase following exposure to intermittent hypoxia (Hyp: 8.2 ± 4.5 to 9.0 ± 4.8, Norm: 8.9 ± 1.7 to 11.1 ± 2.1 mU·mL−1, p = 0.15). Hemoglobin mass did not change following exposure to intermittent hypoxia. This single session of intermittent hypoxia was not sufficient to elicit a significant rise in erythropoietin levels or hemoglobin mass in young healthy individuals. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hypoxia and Exercise: Effects on Health and Performance)
Show Figures

Figure 1

15 pages, 2252 KiB  
Article
Hypoxic Pilates Intervention for Obesity: A Randomized Controlled Trial
by Kyounghwa Jung, Jisu Kim, Hun-Young Park, Won-Sang Jung and Kiwon Lim
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(19), 7186; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17197186 - 30 Sep 2020
Cited by 22 | Viewed by 3371
Abstract
This study examined the effect of Pilates training under hypoxia, a novel treatment method, for obesity. Thirty-two Korean women with obesity (age: 34–60 (47.5 ± 7.5) years) were randomly assigned to control (CON; n = 10), normoxic Pilates training (NPTG; n = 10), [...] Read more.
This study examined the effect of Pilates training under hypoxia, a novel treatment method, for obesity. Thirty-two Korean women with obesity (age: 34–60 (47.5 ± 7.5) years) were randomly assigned to control (CON; n = 10), normoxic Pilates training (NPTG; n = 10), and hypoxic Pilates training groups (HPTG; n = 12). The NPTG and HPTG performed 50 min of Pilates training using a tubing band for 12 weeks (3 days/week) in their respective environmental conditions (NPTG: normoxic condition, inspired oxygen fraction (FiO2) = 20.9%; HPTG: moderate hypoxic condition, FiO2 = 14.5%). The CON maintained their daily lifestyle without intervention. All subjects underwent body composition, blood pressure, arterial stiffness, vascular endothelial function, cardiometabolic biomarker, hemorheological function, and aerobic performance measurements before and after the intervention. The HPTG showed a significant improvement in diastolic blood pressure, total cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations, flow-mediated dilation, and erythrocyte deformability and aggregation (all p < 0.05) compared with the CON and NPTG. However, compared with the CON and NPTG, the HPTG did not show improvement in other parameters. Hypoxic Pilates intervention is a novel and successful method for promoting endothelial and hemorheological functions in women with obesity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hypoxia and Exercise: Effects on Health and Performance)
Show Figures

Figure 1

12 pages, 538 KiB  
Article
Impact of Active and Passive Hypoxia as Re-Warm-Up Activities on Rugby Players’ Performance
by Domingo Jesús Ramos-Campo, João Malta, Guillermo Olcina, Rafael Timón, Armando Raimundo and Pablo Tomas-Carus
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(8), 2971; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17082971 - 24 Apr 2020
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3895
Abstract
The aim of this study was to analyse the effect of four types of re-warm-up (R-WU) activity, namely rest in normoxia (RN) at FiO2 = 20.9%, rest in hypoxia (RH) at FiO2 = 15%, activity (4 × 5 jumps/15 s) in [...] Read more.
The aim of this study was to analyse the effect of four types of re-warm-up (R-WU) activity, namely rest in normoxia (RN) at FiO2 = 20.9%, rest in hypoxia (RH) at FiO2 = 15%, activity (4 × 5 jumps/15 s) in normoxia (AN) and activity in hypoxia (AH) on physical performance. Ten elite male rugby players completed a 15-min warm-up followed by one of the 15-min randomized R-WU strategies. After R-WU, countermovement jump (CMJ), 20 m sprint and repeat sprint ability (RSA) tests were assessed. Compared to passive strategies (RN and RH), tympanic temperature was higher after active R-WU (AN and AH) (p = 0.016). Higher values of CMJ height (p = 0.037) and 20 m sprint (p = 0.02) were found in AH than in RN. In addition, mean RSA was lower (p = 0.008) in AH than in RN and RH. Blood lactate concentration was higher (p = 0.007) after RN and AN strategies than after AH. Muscle O2 saturation (p = 0.021) and total Hb (p = 0.042) were higher after AH than after the other three conditions and after RN, respectively. Therefore, an active R-WU under hypoxia could be useful to elite rugby players, once it had attenuated the decline in tympanic temperature during a 15-min period after warm-up, improving jump, sprint and RSA performance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hypoxia and Exercise: Effects on Health and Performance)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

12 pages, 1807 KiB  
Review
A Focused Review on the Maximal Exercise Responses in Hypo- and Normobaric Hypoxia: Divergent Oxygen Uptake and Ventilation Responses
by Benedikt Treml, Hannes Gatterer, Johannes Burtscher, Axel Kleinsasser and Martin Burtscher
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(14), 5239; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17145239 - 20 Jul 2020
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 4708
Abstract
The literature suggests that acute hypobaric (HH) and normobaric (NH) hypoxia exposure elicits different physiological responses. Only limited information is available on whether maximal cardiorespiratory exercise test outcomes, performed on either the treadmill or the cycle ergometer, are affected differently by NH and [...] Read more.
The literature suggests that acute hypobaric (HH) and normobaric (NH) hypoxia exposure elicits different physiological responses. Only limited information is available on whether maximal cardiorespiratory exercise test outcomes, performed on either the treadmill or the cycle ergometer, are affected differently by NH and HH. A focused literature review was performed to identify relevant studies reporting cardiorespiratory responses in well-trained male athletes (individuals with a maximal oxygen uptake, VO2max > 50 mL/min/kg at sea level) to cycling or treadmill running in simulated acute HH or NH. Twenty-one studies were selected. The exercise tests in these studies were performed in HH (n = 90) or NH (n = 151) conditions, on a bicycle ergometer (n = 178) or on a treadmill (n = 63). Altitudes (simulated and terrestrial) varied between 2182 and 5400 m. Analyses (based on weighted group means) revealed that the decline in VO2max per 1000 m gain in altitude was more pronounced in acute NH vs. HH (−7.0 ± 1.4% vs. −5.6 ± 0.9%). Maximal minute ventilation (VEmax) increased in acute HH but decreased in NH with increasing simulated altitude (+1.9 ± 0.9% vs. −1.4 ± 1.8% per 1000 m gain in altitude). Treadmill running in HH caused larger decreases in arterial oxygen saturation and heart rate than ergometer cycling in acute HH, which was not the case in NH. These results indicate distinct differences between maximal cardiorespiratory responses to cycling and treadmill running in acute NH or HH. Such differences should be considered when interpreting exercise test results and/or monitoring athletic training. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hypoxia and Exercise: Effects on Health and Performance)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop