REFERENCE VALUES FOR AN UNSTEADY-STATE CY CLE ERGOMETER TEST

One-hundred-sixteen healthy subjects (60 female and 56 male) with norm al height (L) and weight (w) were selected to provide an even distribu tion of age (A, 20-70 years). All underwent an unsteady state cycle er gometer test with work increments of 20 watts each minute to exhaustio n. A commercially available exercise testing system (EOS SPRINT, Jager Corp., FRG) with gas analysis from a mixing chamber was used to study oxygen uptake (VO2), carbon dioxide output (VCO2), heart rate (HR), t idal volume (V-T), breathing frequency (BR) and arterial oxygen tensio n (PO2) with special regard to the ventilatory anaerobic threshold (VA T) and maximum power output. For all parameters multiple regression eq uations were determined. Furthermore, heart rate reserve (HR-reserve), breathing reserve (V-E-reserve), O-2-pulse (VO2/HR), the dead space/t idal volume ratio (V-D/V-T) and the alveolar-arterial PO2-difference ( AaDO(2)) were calculated. Day-to-day reproducibility was proven in 21 subjects. VO2max in females was 1584 +/- 300 ml/min (VO2max = -17 A 10 L + 10 G + 58, r = 0:75, p < 0.0001), VO2 AT 957 +/- 159 ml/min (VO 2 AT = 0.35 VO2 max + 0.40 l/min, r = 0.77, p < 0.0001). The ratio VO2 AT/VO2 max was 50 +/- 7%. In male, VO2 max was 2452 +/- 529 ml/min (V O2 max = - 23 A + 23 L + 9.5 G - 1395, r = 0.78, p < 0.0001), VO2 AT 1 209 +/- 213 ml/min (VO2 AT = 0.29 VO2 max+O.51 l/min, r = 0.71, p < 0. 0001), and VO2 AT/VO2 max 62 +/- 9 %. Although HR(max) was equal in bo th (female: 162 +/- 17 b/min, male: 164 +/- 18 b/min), HR(AT) was 10 b /min lower in male (123 +/- 14 b/min vs. 112 +/- 16 b/min). There was no correlation to gender for BR(max) (female 33 + 7, male 34 +/- 8 bre ath/min) while VTmax was lower in female (1680 +/- 310 vs. 2470 +/- 43 0 ml). Day-to-day reproducibility for the sum of all parameters was 11 +/- 5%. Calculated parameters for females and males were: HR-reserve 8 +/- 8 and 7 +/- 8 b/min, V-E-reserve 45 +/- 12 and 43 +/- 16 l/min, O-2-pulse 9.8 +/- 1.6 and 15.0 +/- 2.8 ml/b, V-D/V-T max 0.26 +/- 0.08 and 0.26 +/- 0.008, AaDO(2) 21 +/- 8 and 24 +/- 11 mm Hg, respectivel y.