The DOI matches its Crossref record; 9 of the 9 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Hormonal Basis of Biological Sex Differences in Human Athletic Performance
Abstract
Biological sex is a primary determinant of athletic human performance involving strength, power, speed, and aerobic endurance and is more predictive of athletic performance than gender. This perspective article highlights 3 key medical and physiological insights related to recent evolving research into the sex differences in human physical performance: (1) sex and gender are not the same; (2) males and females exhibit profound differences in physical performance with males outperforming females in events and sports involving strength, power, speed, and aerobic endurance; (3) endogenous testosterone underpins sex differences in human physical performance with questions remaining on the roles of minipuberty in the sex differences in performance in prepubescent youth and the presence of the Y chromosome (SRY gene expression) in males, on athletic performance across all ages. Last, females are underrepresented as participants in biomedical research, which has led to a historical dearth of information on the mechanisms for sex differences in human physical performance and the capabilities of the female body. Collectively, greater effort and resources are needed to address the hormonal mechanisms for biological sex differences in human athletic performance before and after puberty.
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“These differences largely reflect divergent hormonal environments, with testosterone promoting muscle hypertrophy, erythropoiesis, and aerobic capacity, thereby supporting higher aerobic power and endurance performance in male athletes [1,2,3].”
From Ageing, Sex Differences, and REDs Risk in Endurance Runners: An Integrated Cross-Sectional Study Protocol (2026) · cites this paper as [3]
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“This performance disparity is primarily attributed to sex-specific physiological characteristics, including higher maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max), greater cardiac stroke volume, elevated haemoglobin concentrations, and larger skeletal muscle mass in men, which collectively enhance oxygen transport and utilisation during prolonged exercise.”
From Ageing, Sex Differences, and REDs Risk in Endurance Runners: An Integrated Cross-Sectional Study Protocol (2026) · cites this paper as [3]
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“Across all levels of competition, male runners typically outperform female runners in events ranging from middle-distance to ultramarathons.”
From Ageing, Sex Differences, and REDs Risk in Endurance Runners: An Integrated Cross-Sectional Study Protocol (2026) · cites this paper as [3]
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Cited by
Oreská, Ľ., Kundeková, B., Varga, L., Stebelová, K., Okuliarová, M., Payer, J., & Sedliak, M. (2026) · Sports · doi:10.3390/sports14030121
Metadata
- Authors
- Senefeld, J. W., & Hunter, S. K.
- Affiliations
- Department of Health and Kinesiology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign , Urbana, IL 61801 , USA
- Exercise Science Program, Department of Physical Therapy, Marquette University , Milwaukee, WI 53201 , USA
- Venue
- Endocrinology
- Publisher
- The Endocrine Society
- Published
- 2024-03-29
- Volume
- 165
- Issue
- 5
- ISSN
- 1945-7170
- Cited by
- 45
- References
- 9
- Language
- en
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