Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Physical Activity And Exercise For Hot Flashes: Trigger Or Treatment?, Sarah Witkowski, Rose Evard, Jacquelyn J. Rickson, Quinn White, Lynnette Leidy Sievert

Exercise and Sport Studies: Faculty Publications

Importance and Objective: Hot flashes (HFs) are a prevalent feature of menopause. Hot flashes can be bothersome and affect quality of life. However, HFs have also been associated with the risk for cardiovascular disease. Therefore, providing current evidence on the effect of therapies to reduce HFs can help patients and providers with decision making. This review provides details on the scientific evidence to date related to the effect of physical activity (PA) and exercise to alter the HF experience in women

Methods: The PubMed database was searched between June 2020 and June 2022 for currently available evidence regarding the relation …

A Comparison Of Stress, Symptoms, Physical Activity, And Adiposity Among Women At Midlife Before And During The Pandemic, Lynnette Leldy Stevert, Sofiya Shreyer, Ashley Boudreau, Sarah Witkowski, Daniel E. Brown

Exercise and Sport Studies: Faculty Publications

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic presented challenges that disproportionately impacted women. Household roles typically performed by women (such as resource acquisition and caretaking) became more difficult due to financial strain, fear of infection, and limited childcare options among other concerns. This research draws from an ongoing study of hot flashes and brown adipose tissue to examine the health-related effects of the COVID-19 pandemic among 162 women aged 45–55 living in western Massachusetts.

Methods: We compared women who participated in the study pre- and early pandemic with women who participated mid-pandemic and later-pandemic (when vaccines became widely available). We collected self-reported symptom …

Follicle-Stimulating Hormone, But Not Cardiorespiratory Fitness, Is Associated With Flow-Mediated Dilation With Advancing Menopausal Stage, Corinna Serviente, Sarah Witkowski

Exercise and Sport Studies: Faculty Publications

Objective:The aim of the study was to evaluate if there are differences in endothelial function before and after acute exercise in women at different menopausal stages with high and low cardiorespiratory fitness.Methods:Participants were healthy high-fit premenopausal (n = 11), perimenopausal (n = 12), and postmenopausal women (n = 13) and low-fit perimenopausal (n = 7) and postmenopausal women (n = 8). Brachial artery flow-mediated dilation (FMD) was measured before and after acute moderate intensity exercise. FMD was calculated as (Diameterpeak-Diameterbaseline)/ Diameterbaseline) × 100. Differences between high-fit women and between high- and low-fit perimenopausal and postmenopausal women were assessed with repeated-measure …

Endothelial And Inflammatory Responses To Acute Exercise In Perimenopausal And Late Postmenopausal Women, Corinna Serviente, Lisa M. Troy, Maxine De Jonge, Daniel D. Shill, Nathan T. Jenkins, Sarah Witkowski

Exercise and Sport Studies: Faculty Publications

Endothelial dysfunction and inflammation are characteristics of subclinical atherosclerosis and may increase through progressive menopausal stages. Evaluating endothelial responses to acute exercise can reveal underlying dysfunction not apparent in resting conditions. The purpose of this study was to investigate markers of endothelial function and inflammation before and after acute exercise in healthy low-active perimenopausal (PERI) and late postmenopausal (POST) women. Flow-mediated dilation (FMD), CD31+/CD42b- and CD62E+ endothelial microparticles (EMPs), and the circulating inflammatory factors monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1), interleukin 8 (IL-8), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were measured before and 30 min after acute exercise. Before exercise, FMD was …