Department for Automatics, Biocybernetics and Robotics, Jožef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Faculty of Sport, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
J Appl Physiol (1985). 2024 Sep 1;137(3):765-777. doi: 10.1152/japplphysiol.00291.2024. Epub 2024 Jul 25.
Preterm birth elicits long-lasting physiological effects in various organ systems, potentially modulating exercise and environmental stress responses. To establish whether prematurely-born adults respond uniquely during early high-altitude acclimatization at rest and during exercise, 17 healthy adults born preterm (gestational age < 32 wk) and 17 term-born, age- and aerobic-capacity-matched, control participants completed a three-day high-altitude sojourn (3,375 m). Oxygen uptake, pulmonary ventilation, and hemodynamic responses, as well as pulse oxygen saturation, brain tissue saturation index (TSI), and skeletal muscle TSI, were measured daily at rest and during moderate-intensity steady-state exercise bouts. In general, the prematurely-born group displayed comparable acclimatization responses at rest, with similar ventilation and cardiac output observed between groups throughout. Resting brain TSI was, however, higher in the preterm group upon arrival at high altitude (72 ± 7% vs. 68 ± 3%; = 1.20). Absolute exercising oxygen uptake was lower in the preterm participants ( = 0.047), with this group displaying lower exercising cardiac output underpinned by reduced stroke volume (both = 0.035). Nevertheless, exercising minute ventilation (V̇e) did not differ between groups ( = 0.237) while brain TSI (70 ± 6% vs. 66 ± 3%; = 1.35) and pulse oxygen saturation (85 ± 3% vs. 82 ± 5%; = 1.52) were higher with prematurity upon arrival to high altitude. These findings suggest that healthy prematurely-born adults exhibit comparable early acclimatization patterns to their term-born counterparts and better maintain cerebral oxygenation at rest. Together, these data suggest that prematurely-born adults should not be discouraged from high-altitude sojourns involving physical activity. The acclimatization pattern across three days at 3,375 m, at rest and during moderate-intensity exercise, was similar between healthy adults born prematurely and their term-born counterparts. Preterm adults free from respiratory complications were found to better maintain brain tissue and capillary oxygen saturation at high altitudes, whereas the term-born group experienced larger altitude-induced reductions. Despite apparent cardiac limitations, preterm individuals tolerated exercise similarly to their term-born peers. These findings underscore the notion that preterm birth per se does not predispose healthy adults to decreased altitude tolerance during exercise.
早产会在各个器官系统中引起持久的生理效应，可能会调节运动和环境应激反应。为了确定早产儿在早期高海拔适应期间休息和运动时是否会有独特的反应，17 名健康的早产儿（<32 周）和 17 名足月出生、年龄和有氧能力匹配的对照组参与者在三天内完成了一次高海拔逗留（3375 米）。每天在休息和中等强度稳态运动期间测量氧气摄取、肺通气和血液动力学反应，以及脉搏血氧饱和度、脑组织饱和度指数（TSI）和骨骼肌 TSI。一般来说，早产儿组在休息时表现出相似的适应反应，两组在整个过程中的通气量和心输出量相似。然而，早产儿组在到达高海拔时的静息脑 TSI 较高（72±7%比 68±3%；=1.20）。早产儿参与者的绝对运动摄氧量较低（=0.047），这一组的运动心输出量较低，其基础是每搏量降低（均=0.035）。然而，运动时分钟通气量（V̇e）在两组之间没有差异（=0.237），而脑 TSI（70±6%比 66±3%；=1.35）和脉搏血氧饱和度（85±3%比 82±5%；=1.52）在到达高海拔时较高。这些发现表明，健康的早产儿与足月出生的成年人表现出相似的早期适应模式，并在休息时更好地维持脑氧合。总的来说，这些数据表明，不应该劝阻早产儿进行涉及体力活动的高海拔逗留。在 3375 米处休息和进行中等强度运动的三天期间，健康的早产儿和足月出生的成年人的适应模式相似。无呼吸系统并发症的早产儿在高海拔地区更好地维持脑组织和毛细血管氧饱和度，而足月出生的组经历了更大的海拔诱导降低。尽管存在明显的心脏限制，早产儿在运动方面与足月同龄人相似。这些发现强调了这样一个观点，即早产儿本身并不会使健康成年人在运动时降低对海拔的耐受性。
