Effect of mechanical loading on breathing patterns in women

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Abstract
First-breath ventilatory responses to graded inspiratory elastic and resistive loads were obtained from 80 women unfamiliar with respiratory experimentation. For each load responses from different subjects ranged from a weak tidal volume defense coupled with an increased breathing frequency to a strong tidal volume defense coupled with a decreased frequency; strong tidal volume defenders employed longer inspirations than did weak tidal volume defenders; and individual respiratory frequency responses were mediated by changes in inspiratory and/or expiratory timing. Thus, the group response was qualitatively the same as that reported for 80 men. Mean inspiratory airflow responses of women exceeded those of men by an amount attributable to women''s higher intrinsic respiratory elastance. Tidal volume responses did not differ significantly, suggesting that men and women produce different neural adjustments to loads. In support of this hypothesis, analysis of respiratory timing responses revealed that men actively prolonged inspiration more than women during resistive loading; and women actively shortened inspiration more than men during elastic loading. Evidently, the load-compensating behavior exhibited by men and women was similar but not identical.