Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40978561›Full record

ArticleCurrent research in physiology2025

Vascular adaptation in elite female and male rowers across a competitive season.

Sarah R Henley-Martin, Carly J Brade, Hugh Riddell, Sophie P Watts, Andrew J Maiorana, Louise H Naylor, Martyn J Binnie, Angela L Spence

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Current research in physiology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Sarah R Henley-MartinCurtin School of Allied Health, Exercise Science Discipline, Curtin University, Bentley, Australia.
Carly J BradeCurtin School of Allied Health, Exercise Science Discipline, Curtin University, Bentley, Australia.
Hugh RiddellCurtin School of Allied Health, Exercise Science Discipline, Curtin University, Bentley, Australia.
Sophie P WattsSchool of Human Sciences (Exercise and Sport Sciences), The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia.
Andrew J MaioranaCurtin School of Allied Health, Exercise Science Discipline, Curtin University, Bentley, Australia.
Louise H NaylorSchool of Human Sciences (Exercise and Sport Sciences), The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia.
Martyn J BinnieSchool of Human Sciences (Exercise and Sport Sciences), The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia.
Angela L SpenceCurtin School of Allied Health, Exercise Science Discipline, Curtin University, Bentley, Australia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The 'athlete's artery' phenotype describes exercise-induced vascular adaptation whereby athletes have enlarged conduit arteries resulting from chronic endurance exercise. However, studies remain limited to males, with few evaluating changes in response to training. This study aimed to compare upper and lower limb adaptations across a 21-week competitive season between elite female and male rowers. Twenty-one athletes (females n = 10) were assessed at three timepoints across a 21-week season: early- (ES), mid- (MS), and late-season (LS). High-resolution duplex ultrasonography assessed brachial and femoral artery diameter, flow-mediated dilation (FMD%), and ischaemic hand-grip exercise (vasodilatory capacity, VD%). Data was analysed using Bayesian repeated measures ANOVA (training × sex). The time-course for peak brachial diameter differed for sex with largest diameter for females at LS (4.3 ± 0.3 cm) compared to MS for males (5.1 ± 0.3 cm). Similarly, brachial FMD% differed by sex with training where females had largest FMD% at LS and males at MS. However, shear-normalised brachial FMD% showed no effect of training or sex. No changes in VD% were observed. Femoral artery diameter was larger in males, while no sex or training effects were evidence for femoral FMD%. In the upper limb, brachial diameter increased with training which differed by sex, suggesting a sex-specific response. While brachial FMD% also improved with training in each sex, normalising for shear rate removed all apparent differences, suggesting a shear-mediated response. Lower limb vasculature was less impacted by training, with a moderate effect for sex.

Indexed as

Blood flowBrachial arteryDoppler ultrasound imagingElite athletesFemoral arterySex differences

Identifiers

PMID40978561
PMCPMC12446613

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.