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Impact of Season and Oral Contraceptive use on Cortisol Levelsin Physically Active Women
Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Community Medicine and Rehabilitation, Sports medicine.
Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Occupational and Environmental Medicine.ORCID iD: 0000-0003-3534-456X
Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Clinical Microbiology.
Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Community Medicine and Rehabilitation, Sports medicine. The Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences, Stockholm, Sweden.
2016 (English)In: Journal of Exercise, Sports & Orthopedics, ISSN 2374-6904, Vol. 3, no 2Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

When athletes optimize their physical performance, an imbalance could occur between the strain of training, time for recovery and the athlete’s individual tolerance of stress that could lead to overreaching and overtraining syndrome. Cortisol has been suggested to be a biological, diagnostic marker to detect overreaching and overtraining syndrome, since it is thought to indicate stress. This study aimed to provide normative data on cortisol levels, hence investigate seasonality and impact of oral contraceptive use to elucidate if cortisol could be used as a diagnostic marker to detect overreaching and overtraining syndrome in female athletes. The women, divided in two groups, oral contraceptive users (n = 15) and non-users (n = 18), were followed over a nine-month period with monthly blood sampling for cortisol testing and a Profile of Mood State questionnaire (POMS) as a subjective measure of overreaching and overtraining syndrome.Findings indicated seasonal variations in cortisol levels, with different pattern in oral contraceptive users to non-users and moreover, higher cortisol levels in users to nonusers irrespective of season. No differences in seasonal variation in Global POMS score within the groups and no differences in Global POMS score between the groups were detected. Due to seasonality, impact of oral contraceptive use on cortisol levels, methodological considerations and standardization, as well as due to no convincing relationship to Global POMS score, cortisol is not suggested to be an optimal biological, diagnostic marker to detect overreaching and overtraining syndrome in physically active women.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2016. Vol. 3, no 2
Keywords [en]
hormones, overreaching, overtraining syndrome, female athletes, Profile of Mood State
National Category
Sport and Fitness Sciences
Research subject
Physiology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-124841DOI: 10.15226/2374-6904/3/2/00150OAI: oai:DiVA.org:umu-124841DiVA, id: diva2:955821
Available from: 2016-08-26 Created: 2016-08-26 Last updated: 2022-03-15Bibliographically approved
In thesis
1. Training and hormones in physically active women: with and without oral contraceptive use
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Training and hormones in physically active women: with and without oral contraceptive use
2016 (English)Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

Background: The number of women participating in sports has increased dramatically, though research in sports are often performed on men. Physical exercise is known to increase physical performance and improve well-being. Although exercise has beneficial health effects for most of the women, it is known that strenuous exercise may also have negative health consequences. Common are menstrual dysfunctions and the medical effects of a long-standing amenorrhea are serious. Moreover, strenuous exercise without adequate recovery may lead to overreaching (OR) /overtraining syndrome (OTS). An improved muscle strength are of great importance in many sports, hence an increased understanding on how to generate optimal strength training programs in women without negative side effects are essential. The aims of this thesis were to investigate the effects on strength and power of high frequency periodised leg resistance training to evaluate a training regime and moreover to investigate if the training was well accepted and without potential exercise-related negative consequences. Moreover, to provide normative data on oxytocin and cortisol to elucidate if these hormones could be one diagnostic marker in combination with others to monitor and diagnose female athletes that may be at risk to develop OR/OTS.

Methods: Fifty-nine women, participated in the four month intervention study. Two groups performed high frequency leg resistance training for two weeks of each menstrual/oral contraceptive (OC) cycle. The remaining part of the cycle they performed the leg training once a week. Group 1, trained with high frequency (5 times·w-1) during the first two weeks of each cycle, and group 2, during the last two weeks of each cycle. A control group performed regular (3 times·w-1) leg resistance training. Another 33 women participated in the observational study. The OC users and non-users, were followed over a nine-month period with monthly blood sampling of oxytocin and cortisol, and the Profile of Mood State (POMS) as a subjective measure of OR/OTS.

Results: The women who performed high frequency leg resistance training, 5 times·w-1, during the first two weeks of each cycle showed significant increase in jump height, peak torque values in hamstrings, increased lean body mass of the legs, and their experiences of the training were positive. These results were not found when the periodised training was performed during the last two weeks of each cycle. In the control group an increase in jump height, and peak torque (left hamstring) was observed. There were no evident differences in the training effects between women with or without OC use. Moreover, no exercise-related negative consequences were detected in any of the three groups. The women in the observational study showed seasonal variations in oxytocin and cortisol, with different pattern in OC users to non-users. No convincing relationships to POMS were found. 

Conclusions: The high frequency periodised leg resistance training during the first two weeks of the cycle is more beneficial to optimize resistance training, than the last two weeks. The high frequency periodised leg resistance training was not associated with exercise-related negative consequences and was well accepted when performed during the first two weeks of each cycle. Due to seasonality and impact of OC use, oxytocin and cortisol are not suggested to be optimal, diagnostic markers alone/in combination with others, to detect OR/OTS in physically active women.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Umeå: Umeå universitet, 2016. p. 82
Series
Umeå University medical dissertations, ISSN 0346-6612 ; 1820
Keywords
female athletes, hormones, menstrual cycle, oral contraceptive cycle, resistance training, muscle strength, power, body composition, female athlete triad, overreaching, overtraining syndrome
National Category
Sport and Fitness Sciences
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-124842 (URN)978-91-7601-516-2 (ISBN)
External cooperation:
Public defence
2016-09-23, Vårdvetarhuset, Aulan, Umeå, 09:00 (Swedish)
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Supervisors
Available from: 2016-09-02 Created: 2016-08-26 Last updated: 2018-06-07Bibliographically approved

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Wikström-Frisén, LisbethNordström, AnnaMincheva-Nilsson, LuciaLarsén, Karin

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