Airway luminal area and the resistive work of breathing during exercise in healthy young females and males

Abstract

We hypothesized that the higher resistive work of breathing in females compared with males during high-intensity exercise is due to smaller airways. In vivo measures of the fourth to eighth airway generations made using optical coherence tomography show that females tend to have smaller airway luminal areas of the fourth to sixth airway generations. Sex differences in airway luminal area result in a greater resistive work of breathing during exercise in females compared with males.