Human physiological and metabolic responses to an attempted winter crossing of Antarctica: the effects of prolonged hypobaric hypoxia

TY - JOUR

T1 - Human physiological and metabolic responses to an attempted winter crossing of Antarctica

T2 - the effects of prolonged hypobaric hypoxia

AU - O'Brien, Katie A

AU - Pollock, Ross D

AU - Stroud, Mike

AU - Lambert, Rob J

AU - Kumar, Alex

AU - Atkinson, Robert A

AU - Green, David A

AU - Anton-Solanas, Ana

AU - Edwards, Lindsay M

AU - Harridge, Steve D R

N1 - © 2018 The Authors. Physiological Reports published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of The Physiological Society and the American Physiological Society.

PY - 2018/3/9

Y1 - 2018/3/9

N2 - An insufficient supply of oxygen to the tissues (hypoxia), as is experienced upon high-altitude exposure, elicits physiological acclimatization mechanisms alongside metabolic remodeling. Details of the integrative adaptive processes in response to chronic hypobaric hypoxic exposure remain to be sufficiently investigated. In this small applied field study, subjects (n = 5, male, age 28-54 years) undertook a 40 week Antarctica expedition in the winter months, which included 24 weeks residing above 2500 m. Measurements taken pre- and postexpedition revealed alterations to glucose and fatty acid resonances within the serum metabolic profile, a 7.8 (±3.6)% increase in respiratory exchange ratio measured during incremental exercise (area under curve, P > 0.01, mean ± SD) and a 2.1(±0.8) % decrease in fat tissue (P < 0.05) postexpedition. This was accompanied by an 11.6 (±1.9) % increase (P > 0.001) in VO2max corrected to % lean mass postexpedition. In addition, spine bone mineral density and lung function measures were identified as novel parameters of interest. This study provides, an in-depth characterization of the responses to chronic hypobaric hypoxic exposure in one of the most hostile environments on Earth.

AB - An insufficient supply of oxygen to the tissues (hypoxia), as is experienced upon high-altitude exposure, elicits physiological acclimatization mechanisms alongside metabolic remodeling. Details of the integrative adaptive processes in response to chronic hypobaric hypoxic exposure remain to be sufficiently investigated. In this small applied field study, subjects (n = 5, male, age 28-54 years) undertook a 40 week Antarctica expedition in the winter months, which included 24 weeks residing above 2500 m. Measurements taken pre- and postexpedition revealed alterations to glucose and fatty acid resonances within the serum metabolic profile, a 7.8 (±3.6)% increase in respiratory exchange ratio measured during incremental exercise (area under curve, P > 0.01, mean ± SD) and a 2.1(±0.8) % decrease in fat tissue (P < 0.05) postexpedition. This was accompanied by an 11.6 (±1.9) % increase (P > 0.001) in VO2max corrected to % lean mass postexpedition. In addition, spine bone mineral density and lung function measures were identified as novel parameters of interest. This study provides, an in-depth characterization of the responses to chronic hypobaric hypoxic exposure in one of the most hostile environments on Earth.

U2 - 10.14814/phy2.13613

DO - 10.14814/phy2.13613

M3 - Article

C2 - 29521037

SN - 2051-817X

VL - 6

JO - Physiology Reports

JF - Physiology Reports

IS - 5

ER -