Sex-linked differences in pulse oxymetry

Abstract

The difference between genders has generated increasing interest in recent years. It is well known that women and men show differences in their respiratory system: different red blood cell counts, haemoglobin and 2,3-diphosphoglycerate plasma concentrations. Recently, further differences have been found in the ventilatory response to hypoxia and exercise and the evolution of some respiratory illnesses. In this study it was found that during rest at sea level, the haemoglobin oxygen saturation, as measured by pulse oxymetry, is slightly higher in women than in men (98.6 (SD 1.1)% versus 97.9 (SD 0.9)%; p = 0.001). These findings are consistent with other studies, which found gender differences in the transcutaneous or tissue PaO(2). The difference in oxygen saturation is not related to differences in ventilation. The disparity is modest and does not seem to produce great differences in the oxygen content of arterial blood, but combined with the different affinity of haemoglobin for oxygen or different metabolic rate, may play a role in the course of elite competition sports, high altitude ascents or the evaluation of critically ill patients. Further studies are needed to establish the degree, extent and clinical importance of these differences in the saturation of haemoglobin.

Sex‐linked difference in blood oxygen saturation

“…We could find only one previous study with a primary goal of comparing oxygen saturation between sexes in healthy volunteers . Their findings corroborate ours and showed that women have a higher baseline SpO 2 at rest (98.6% vs 97.9%).…”

“…In recent years there has been a growing interest in studying differences between sexes, both from a physiological and a clinical perspective . We could only find one study whose primary goal was to compare SpO 2 between men and women in healthy volunteers . In this study, SpO 2 values were measured at sea level and were slightly but significantly higher in women.…”

“…A secondary goal was to determine the influence of menstrual cycle upon SpO 2 in females. Indeed, menstrual cycle is associated with cyclic changes in progesterone concentrations (low in the follicular phase and high in the luteal phase), and progesterone is known to be a respiratory stimulator . Moreover, there are body temperature changes associated with menstrual cycle .…”

Analysis of Hypoxic and Hypercapnic Ventilatory Response in Healthy Volunteers

“…Although gender differences in SpO2 have been seen in studies assessing transcutaneous PaO2 [38], we could find only one study that pursued this query as its main goal [39]. Ricart and colleagues found women to have a higher baseline SpO2 at rest that is statistically significant.…”

Effect of Moderate Elevation above Sea Level on Blood Oxygen Saturation in Healthy Young Adults

“…The first one is that it was performed exclusively on young adult male volunteers and the results do not necessarily apply to other subjects such as females, children or elderly individuals. Indeed, it has been shown that during rest at SL, Sa O 2 is slightly higher (nearly 1%) in women than in men [24]. Additionally, altitude may differently affect Sa O 2 at different ages in a gender-dependent fashion.…”