Department of Optics, Faculty of Sciences.
Department of Physical Education and Sport, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Granada, Granada, Spain.
J Glaucoma. 2021 May 1;30(5):e193-e197. doi: 10.1097/IJG.0000000000001807.
Low-intensity aerobic exercise is recommended to reduce intraocular pressure (IOP) levels. However, this effect depends on several factors. We found that using an elevation training mask (ETM) during low-intensity aerobic exercise causes an IOP rise.
The aim was to assess the influence of wearing an ETM on IOP during low-intensity endurance training.
Sixteen physically active young adults (age=23.9±2.9 y) cycled during 30 minutes at 10% of maximal power production with and without an ETM in 2 different days and randomized order. A rebound tonometer was used to measure IOP at baseline, after a warm-up of 5 minutes, during cycling (6, 12, 18, 24, and 30 min), and recovery (5 and 10 min) by rebound tonometry.
The use of an ETM significantly affects the IOP behaviour during exercise (P<0.001, ηp²=0.66). In the ETM condition, there was an IOP increment during exercise (P<0.001, ηp²=0.28) whereas an IOP-lowering effect was observed in the control condition (P<0.001, ηp²=0.41). Post hoc comparisons showed that there were greater IOP values during exercise in the ETM condition in comparison to the control condition (average IOP difference=3.7±2.2 mm Hg; corrected P<0.01, and the Cohen d's >1.10, in all cases).
Low-intensity endurance exercise causes an increment in IOP when it is performed wearing an ETM and a decrease in IOP when the air flow is not restricted (control condition). Therefore, the ETM should be discouraged during low-intensity endurance exercise for individuals who need to reduce IOP levels (eg, glaucoma patients or those at risk). However, the external validity of these results needs to be addressed in future studies with the inclusion of glaucoma patients.
低强度有氧运动被推荐用于降低眼内压（IOP）水平。然而，这种效果取决于几个因素。我们发现，在低强度有氧运动期间使用海拔训练面罩（ETM）会导致 IOP 升高。
目的是评估在低强度耐力训练期间佩戴 ETM 对 IOP 的影响。
16 名体能活跃的年轻人（年龄=23.9±2.9 岁）在 2 天内以 10%的最大产力在自行车上进行 30 分钟的低强度耐力训练，每天使用和不使用 ETM 进行随机交替。使用回弹眼压计在基线、5 分钟预热后、运动期间（6、12、18、24 和 30 分钟）以及恢复期间（5 和 10 分钟）通过回弹眼压计测量 IOP。
使用 ETM 显著影响运动期间的 IOP 行为（P<0.001，ηp²=0.66）。在 ETM 条件下，运动期间 IOP 升高（P<0.001，ηp²=0.28），而在对照条件下观察到 IOP 降低效应（P<0.001，ηp²=0.41）。事后比较显示，在 ETM 条件下，运动期间的 IOP 值明显高于对照条件（平均 IOP 差值=3.7±2.2 毫米汞柱；校正后 P<0.01，所有情况下的 Cohen d'值均>1.10）。
当佩戴 ETM 进行低强度耐力运动时，IOP 会增加，而当气流不受限制时（对照条件），IOP 会降低。因此，对于需要降低 IOP 水平的个体（例如青光眼患者或有风险的个体），应在低强度耐力运动期间避免使用 ETM。然而，这些结果的外部有效性需要在未来的研究中得到解决，包括纳入青光眼患者。
