Effects of pre-term birth on the cardio-respiratory responses to hypoxic exercise in childrenNarang, Benjamin J. (Avtor) Manferdelli, Giorgio (Avtor) Kepic, Katja (Avtor) Sotiridis, Alexandros (Avtor) Osredkar, Damjan (Avtor) Bourdillon, Nicolas (Avtor) Millet, Grégoire P. (Avtor) Debevec, Tadej (Avtor) altitudechildrenhypoxiaexercise capacityprematurityPre-term birth is associated with numerous cardio-respiratory sequelae in children. Whether these impairments impact the responses to exercise in normoxia or hypoxia remains to be established. Fourteen prematurely-born (PREM) (Mean ± SD; gestational age 29 ± 2 weeks; age 9.5 ± 0.3 years), and 15 full-term children (CONT) (gestational age 39 ± 1 weeks; age 9.7 ± 0.9 years), underwent incremental exercise tests to exhaustion in normoxia (FiO$_2$ = 20.9%) and normobaric hypoxia (FiO$_2$ = 13.2%) on a cycle ergometer. Cardio-respiratory variables were measured throughout. Peak power output was higher in normoxia than hypoxia (103 ± 17 vs. 77 ± 18 W; p < 0.001), with no difference between CONT and PREM (94 ± 23 vs. 86 ± 19 W; p = 0.154). VO$_2$peak was higher in normoxia than hypoxia in CONT (50.8 ± 7.2 vs. 43.8 ± 9.9 mL·kg$^{−1}$·min$^{−1}$; p < 0.001) but not in PREM (48.1 ± 7.5 vs. 45.0 ± 6.8 mL·kg$^{−1}$·min$^{−1}$; p = 0.137; interaction p = 0.044). Higher peak heart rate (187 ± 11 vs. 180 ± 10 bpm; p = 0.005) and lower stroke volume (72 ± 13 vs. 77 ± 14 mL; p = 0.004) were observed in normoxia versus hypoxia in CONT, with no such differences in PREM (p = 0.218 and >0.999, respectively). In conclusion, premature birth does not appear to exacerbate the negative effect of hypoxia on exercise capacity in children. Further research is warranted to identify whether prematurity elicits a protective effect, and to clarify the potential underlying mechanisms.20222022-05-19 08:58:45Članek v reviji136744sl