Effects of acute aerobic exercise on arterial stiffness in transgender men

Mizuki Yamada; Hyunjun Gam; Nodoka Ikegami; Yuriko Nishikawa; Akira Ishikawa; Akiko Funaki; Tomoka Matsuda; Kayoko Kamemoto; Yuto Hashimoto; Takanobu Okamoto; Hiroki Yamazaki; Hirotoshi Tanaka; Mikako Sakamaki-Sunaga

doi:10.3389/fphys.2023.1294284

Effects of acute aerobic exercise on arterial stiffness in transgender men

Front Physiol. 2023 Oct 31:14:1294284. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2023.1294284. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Mizuki Yamada^{1

2}, Hyunjun Gam³, Nodoka Ikegami^{2

4}, Yuriko Nishikawa⁴, Akira Ishikawa¹, Akiko Funaki⁵, Tomoka Matsuda⁶, Kayoko Kamemoto⁷, Yuto Hashimoto⁸, Takanobu Okamoto⁷, Hiroki Yamazaki⁹, Hirotoshi Tanaka¹⁰, Mikako Sakamaki-Sunaga⁷

Affiliations

¹ Graduate School of Health and Sport Science, Nippon Sport Science University, Tokyo, Japan.
² Research Fellow, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), Tokyo, Japan.
³ Department of Physical Education, Yongin University, Gyeonggi, Repulic of Korea.
⁴ Graduate School of Sport Sciences, Waseda University, Saitama, Japan.
⁵ Department of Judo Therapy, Teikyo University of Science, Yamanashi, Japan.
⁶ Department of Sport Sciences and Research, Japan Institute of Sports Sciences (JISS), Tokyo, Japan.
⁷ Department of Exercise Physiology, Nippon Sport Science University, Tokyo, Japan.
⁸ Research Institute for Sports Science, Nippon Sport Science University, Tokyo, Japan.
⁹ Department of Internal Medicine, Teikyo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
¹⁰ Department of Rheumatology, Kitasato University Kitasato Institute Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.

Abstract

Testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) in transgender men (TM) results in side effects such as elevated triglycerides and increased arterial stiffness. Exercise may be useful to ameliorate such effects, but no studies have examined the effects of acute aerobic exercise in TM. This study aimed to investigate the effects of acute aerobic exercise on arterial stiffness in TM. Thirty-six participants were included, comprising 12 TM (duration of TRT: 57.4 ± 30.3 months), 12 males and 12 females. All participants performed acute aerobic exercise on a treadmill at 50% heart rate reserve for 30 min. Arterial stiffness as measured by brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) was measured before exercise (Pre), 30 min after exercise (Post30), and 60 min after exercise (Post60). Serum sex hormone levels, and serum lipid profile were determined only before exercise. Serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels before exercise were significantly higher in TM than in males or females (males: p < 0.01; females: p < 0.05). At all points, baPWV in TM was significantly higher than in females (p < 0.05) and significantly lower than in males (p < 0.05). However, when comparing changes in baPWV over time in each group, significant decreases in Post30 and Post60 were seen in males compared to Pre (both p < 0.05), but no significant change after aerobic exercise was seen in TM or females. These results suggest that acute aerobic exercise yield different effects in TM than in males, but is unlikely to reduce arterial stiffness in TM receiving TRT.

Keywords: female-to-male (FtM); low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C); pulse wave velocity (PWV); sex hormone replacement therapy (HRT); transgender health; treadmill exercise.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was supported by a Grant-in-Aid from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Research (Grant number 22J13584).