Sex influences health: reporting on female characteristics should be mandatory in exercise and physical activity-related diabetes research

Excerpt

To the Editor: In recent years, there has been an increased interest in precision medicine in order to provide treatment and disease management that takes into account individual characteristics, lifestyles and environments. In spite of this movement towards more precise recommendations, physical activity (PA)/exercise research studies involving female participants with diabetes (both type 1 and type 2) very often fail to account for female-specific physiological factors such as the menstrual cycle (or lack thereof), cycle regularity, use of hormonal contraceptives, menopausal status and female-specific cardiometabolic risks (e.g. history of pregnancy complications). The menstrual cycle is known to cause changes in insulin sensitivity throughout the cycle [1], pregnancy causes insulin resistance [2], and menopause is associated with relevant changes in carbohydrate, lipid and protein metabolism [3]. These variables may alter PA/exercise-related blood glucose responses and muscle health. As such, these characteristics warrant greater attention in research studies involving female participants with diabetes. …