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Effects of Aging on Determinants of Endurance Performance in Women Masters Athletes: A Scoping Review
Open accessAbstract
Background/Objectives: Masters athletes are adults aged ≥40 who compete in sport, exhibiting superior physical function and healthier aging than their sedentary peers. However, even highly trained masters athletes experience age-related performance declines. Women masters athletes represent a growing yet understudied population who may face unique physiological challenges. This scoping review synthesizes literature from 1984 to 2024, examining the impact of age and menopause on determinants of endurance performance in women masters athletes. Methods: Following JBI scoping review methodology, six databases were searched (Medline, Embase, Central, CINAHL, SPORTdiscus, Scopus). Studies were evaluated for population characteristics, methodological approaches, and physiological determinants of performance (i.e., aerobic capacity, lactate kinetics, and exercise economy). Results: Twenty-nine studies were included. Most (n = 28) assessed aerobic capacity, reporting declines between 0.36 and 0.84 mL·kg−1·min−1·year−1 (0.5–2.4%·year−1). These reductions were primarily associated with decreased cardiac output followed by changes in body composition. Training volume emerged as a predictor of aerobic capacity, but the effects of menopause were unclear. Findings on lactate kinetics and exercise economy were mixed but preliminary research indicated that lactate threshold relative to VO2max generally increased, peak lactate remained stable and energy cost increased with age. Fitness and health characteristics among women athletes differed from sedentary populations, emphasizing the need for athlete-specific data to support training and health decisions. Conclusions: Aging is associated with decreased aerobic capacity and variable changes in lactate kinetics and exercise economy. While training volume may attenuate performance decrements, the impact of menopause remains uncertain, underscoring the need for longitudinal research to better support this growing segment of the population.
Checked 2026-11-14 · 3 references not checked yet
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TL;DR
This scoping review synthesizes 29 studies (1984–2022) on how aging and menopause affect the determinants of endurance performance—aerobic capacity, lactate kinetics, and exercise economy—in women masters athletes. Aerobic capacity declines consistently with age, while evidence on lactate kinetics and exercise economy remains mixed and preliminary, and the influence of menopause is largely unclear.
Key findings
- Aerobic capacity was assessed in 28 of 29 studies, declining by 0.36–0.84 mL·kg⁻¹·min⁻¹·year⁻¹ (0.5–2.4%·year⁻¹), with younger athletes declining more slowly and older athletes faster.
- The decline was primarily associated with decreased cardiac output, followed by changes in body composition; maximal heart rate consistently decreased with age, while stroke volume findings were mixed and arteriovenous O₂ difference contributed little.
- Training volume was the most significant modifiable predictor: Eskurza et al. reported that trained women who reduced training volume declined at 1.04 mL·kg⁻¹·min⁻¹·year⁻¹ versus 0.52 mL·kg⁻¹·min⁻¹·year⁻¹ in those who maintained it.
- Peak lactate generally remained stable with age, while lactate threshold relative to VO₂max increased (~0.3%·year⁻¹); preliminary evidence suggested energy cost of running increased with age in females but not males.
- Women masters athletes had higher absolute aerobic capacity than sedentary peers but similar relative (%·year⁻¹) rates of decline.
Methods
- Scoping review following JBI methodology and reported per PRISMA-ScR, with an a priori protocol registered with OSF (18 December 2024).
- Six databases (Medline, Embase, Central, CINAHL, SPORTdiscus, Scopus) were searched in September 2024 with no date or language restrictions; inclusion required women/female endurance athletes (runners, cyclists, swimmers, triathletes) aged 40–65, Tier 2 or above per the Participant Classification Framework, with at least one determinant of endurance performance reported over time.
- From 8675 records and 3771 duplicates removed, 4904 were screened, 51 full texts reviewed, and 29 studies included (25 cross-sectional, 4 longitudinal); data extraction was verified by a second reviewer.
Limitations
- Stated: many studies were over 25 years old and used outdated methods (hydrostatic weighing, Douglas bags); menopause status and athlete competitive level were often poorly defined, limiting cross-study comparability; most designs were cross-sectional with small samples, especially in older age groups; inconsistent terminology (e.g., blanket "estrogens," conflation of sex and gender terms) impeded nuanced discussion.
- Stated: inability to classify participants using the STRAW+10 framework because few studies described how menopause status was identified.
- Evident in the text: only 12 of 29 studies discussed menopause at all, few controlled for or examined menopause hormone therapy, and no studies considered the impact of menopause symptoms on exercise performance; exercise economy analysis in depth was limited to a single study.
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![Figure A1 PRISMA-ScR Checklist [82].](/paper-figures/d42bd87a601c4efe83daf87786e5d959/effects-of-aging-on-determinants-of-endurance-performance-in-women-masters-figure-1.jpg)
![Figure 1 PRISMA 2020 flow diagram for new systematic reviews [29] (Appendix A).](/paper-figures/6cf4860bb114406c9de5b975b1d8884b/effects-of-aging-on-determinants-of-endurance-performance-in-women-masters-figure-1.jpg)
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In the paper
“The contribution of ∆a-vO2 to age-related reduction in aerobic capacity appeared to be limited [50,71].”
§ Effects of Aging on Determinants of Endurance Performance in Women Masters Athletes: A Scoping Review > 4. Discussion > 4.1. Aerobic Capacity
What the sources say
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In the paper
“Proctor and Joyner [62] demonstrated that decreases in aerobic capacity normalized to muscle mass were predominately attributed to diminished cardiac output—and consequently reduced oxygen delivery—rather than to impaired ∆a-vO2.”
§ Effects of Aging on Determinants of Endurance Performance in Women Masters Athletes: A Scoping Review > 4. Discussion > 4.1. Aerobic Capacity
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [62] Proctor, 1997, Skeletal Muscle Mass and the Reduction of VO2max in Trained Older Subjects, J. Appl. Physiol. source
boostedstates a cause- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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In the paper
“Maximal heart rate consistently decreased with age regardless of fitness status [34,57,60,61,64], likely due to changes in intrinsic cardiac pacemaker function [70].”
§ Effects of Aging on Determinants of Endurance Performance in Women Masters Athletes: A Scoping Review > 4. Discussion > 4.1. Aerobic Capacity
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [34] Hawkins, 2001, A Longitudinal Assessment of Change in VO2max and Maximal Heart Rate in Master Athletes, Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. source
- Not checked yetcites [57] Eskurza, 2002, Changes in Maximal Aerobic Capacity with Age in Endurance-Trained Women: 7-Yr Follow-Up, J. Appl. Physiol. source
- Not checked yetcites [60] Petek, 2023, Characterization of Ventilatory Efficiency during Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing in Healthy Athletes, Eur. J. Prev. Cardiol. source
- Not checked yetcites [61] Proctor, 1998, Influence of Age and Gender on Cardiac Output-VO2 Relationships during Submaximal Cycle Ergometry, J. Appl. Physiol. source
- Not checked yetcites [64] Tanaka, 1997, Greater Rate of Decline in Maximal Aerobic Capacity with Age in Physically Active vs. Sedentary Healthy Women, J. Appl. Physiol. source
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In the paper
“Longitudinal studies, which capture within-person changes, reported higher rates of decline compared to cross-sectional designs [34,35,43,57].”
§ Effects of Aging on Determinants of Endurance Performance in Women Masters Athletes: A Scoping Review > 4. Discussion > 4.1. Aerobic Capacity
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [34] Hawkins, 2001, A Longitudinal Assessment of Change in VO2max and Maximal Heart Rate in Master Athletes, Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. source
- Not checked yetcites [35] Marcell, 2003, Longitudinal Analysis of Lactate Threshold in Male and Female Master Athletes, Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. source
- Not checked yetcites [43] Hawkins, 2003, Five-Year Maintenance of Bone Mineral Density in Women Master Runners, Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. source
- Not checked yetcites [57] Eskurza, 2002, Changes in Maximal Aerobic Capacity with Age in Endurance-Trained Women: 7-Yr Follow-Up, J. Appl. Physiol. source
plainstates an association- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
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In the paper
“While stroke volume decreased with age in sedentary women [45], findings among women masters athletes were less consistent.”
§ Effects of Aging on Determinants of Endurance Performance in Women Masters Athletes: A Scoping Review > 4. Discussion > 4.1. Aerobic Capacity
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [45] Hunt, 1997, Systemic Hemodynamic Determinants of Blood Pressure in Women: Age, Physical Activity, and Hormone Replacement, Am. J. Physiol. source
plainstates a cause- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.
Rated minor: it would not touch a result — a value no result rests on, a p-value that stays on the same side of the significance level, or a conflict that is clerical, resolved elsewhere in the paper, or outside its own findings.
In the paper
§ Effects of Aging on Determinants of Endurance Performance in Women Masters Athletes: A Scoping Review > 2. Materials and Methods
“we reported the process according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) (Appendix A) [29].”
§ Effects of Aging on Determinants of Endurance Performance in Women Masters Athletes: A Scoping Review > References
“29. Page M.J. McKenzie J.E. Bossuyt P.M. Boutron I. Hoffman T.C. Mulrow C.D. Shamseer L. Tetzlaff J.M. Akl E.A. Brennan S.E. The PRISMA 2020 Statement: An Updated Guideline for Reporting Systematic Reviews Br. Med. J. 2021 372 n71 10.1136/bmj.n71 33782057 PMC8005924”
Rated minor: it would not touch a result — a value no result rests on, a p-value that stays on the same side of the significance level, or a conflict that is clerical, resolved elsewhere in the paper, or outside its own findings.
In the paper
§ Effects of Aging on Determinants of Endurance Performance in Women Masters Athletes: A Scoping Review > 4. Discussion > 4.2. Lactate Kinetics
“whereas one study observed a decrease [31] (Figure 2).”
§ Effects of Aging on Determinants of Endurance Performance in Women Masters Athletes: A Scoping Review > 3. Results
“Seven articles presented measures of lactate [34,35,52,53,54,55,56]”
Rated minor: it would not touch a result — a value no result rests on, a p-value that stays on the same side of the significance level, or a conflict that is clerical, resolved elsewhere in the paper, or outside its own findings.
In the paper
§ Effects of Aging on Determinants of Endurance Performance in Women Masters Athletes: A Scoping Review > 4. Discussion > 4.2. Lactate Kinetics
“Most evidence indicated stable peak lactate concentrations with age in women masters athletes [34,52,54,64]”
§ Effects of Aging on Determinants of Endurance Performance in Women Masters Athletes: A Scoping Review > 3. Results
“| Tanaka (1997) [64] | 84 | 20–75 † | X | – | – | Rate of VO2max decline between trained and sedentary women. | Absolute rate of VO2max decline was greater in trained compared to sedentary women, but relative rate VO2max was similar between groups. |”
Citations
Cites
The PRISMA 2020 statement: An updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews
Page, M. J., McKenzie, J. E., Bossuyt, P. M., Boutron, I., Hoffmann, T. C., Mulrow, C. D., Shamseer, L., Tetzlaff, J. M., Akl, E. A., Brennan, S. E., et al. (2021) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.n71 · Cited by 108,283
PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR): Checklist and Explanation
Tricco, A. C., Lillie, E., Zarin, W., O'Brien, K. K., Colquhoun, H., Levac, D., Moher, D., Peters, M. D. J., Horsley, T., Weeks, L., et al. (2018) · Annals of Internal Medicine · doi:10.7326/m18-0850 · Cited by 43,565
Munn, Z., Peters, M. D. J., Stern, C., Tufanaru, C., McArthur, A., & Aromataris, E. (2018) · BMC Medical Research Methodology · doi:10.1186/s12874-018-0611-x · Cited by 11,385 · cited 1×
“Given the relative lack of sport science research on women masters athletes, a scoping review was chosen to broadly map and characterize the state of the literature [25,28].”
Updated methodological guidance for the conduct of scoping reviews
Peters, M. D. J., Marnie, C., Tricco, A. C., Pollock, D., Munn, Z., Alexander, L., McInerney, P., Godfrey, C. M., & Khalil, H. (2020) · JBI Evidence Synthesis · doi:10.11124/jbies-20-00167 · Cited by 9,046
Age-predicted maximal heart rate revisited
Tanaka, H., Monahan, K. D., & Seals, D. R. (2001) · Journal of the American College of Cardiology · doi:10.1016/s0735-1097(00)01054-8 · Cited by 3,775 · cited 1×
“Maximal heart rate consistently decreased with age regardless of fitness status [34,57,60,61,64], likely due to changes in intrinsic cardiac pacemaker function [70].”
Defining Training and Performance Caliber: A Participant Classification Framework
McKay, A. K. A., Stellingwerff, T., Smith, E. S., Martin, D. T., Mujika, I., Goosey-Tolfrey, V. L., Sheppard, J., & Burke, L. M. (2022) · International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance · doi:10.1123/ijspp.2021-0451 · Cited by 3,093
Harlow, S. D., Gass, M., Hall, J. E., Lobo, R., Maki, P., Rebar, R. W., Sherman, S., Sluss, P. M., & de Villiers, T. J. (2012) · Menopause · doi:10.1097/gme.0b013e31824d8f40 · Cited by 1,705
Endurance exercise performance: the physiology of champions
Joyner, M. J., & Coyle, E. F. (2008) · The Journal of Physiology · doi:10.1113/jphysiol.2007.143834 · Cited by 1,307
Cunningham, C., O' Sullivan, R., Caserotti, P., & Tully, M. A. (2020) · Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports · doi:10.1111/sms.13616 · Cited by 1,154
Peters, M. D., Godfrey, C., McInerney, P., Munn, Z., Tricco, A. C., & Khalil, H. (2024) · JBI Manual for Evidence Synthesis · doi:10.46658/jbimes-24-09 · Cited by 1,044
Research works printed but not linked: 4
- (2024). Veritas Health Innovation Covidence Systematic Review Software, Covidence. Available online: www.covidence.org.
- Rael, 2022, Cardiorespiratory Response to High Intensity Interval Exercise in Endurance-Trained Postmenopausal Women, Eur. J. Appl. Physiol., 39, 19
- Koda, 1994, Aerobic Work Capacity of Japanese Masters Swimmers, Coach. Sport Sci. J., 1, 16
- Brown, 2007, Age-Associated Changes In VO2 and Power Output—A Cross-Sectional Study of Endurance Trained New Zealand Cyclists, J. Sports Sci. Med., 6, 477
Cited by
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Metadata
- Authors
- Vangsgaard, D., Noumi, M., Hayden, K. A., & Doyle-Baker, P. K.
- Affiliations
- University of Calgary (CA)
- Libraries and Cultural Resources, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada
- Human Performance Laboratory, Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada
- Venue
- Healthcare
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Published
- 2026-04-17
- Volume
- 14
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 1080
- ISSN
- 2227-9032 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC13116005
- OpenAlex
- W7154954110
- Semantic Scholar
- 3f5a0344eb007fd5c25e5baeb144996184359fb6
- Cited by
- 0
- References
- 74
- FWCI
- 0.00
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Healthcare (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- Joan Snyder Fund for Excellence in Kinesiology Research
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology (medical) › Cardiovascular and exercise physiology
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Orthopedics and Sports Medicine › Sports Performance and Training
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Physical Activity and Health
- Keywords
- masters athletes, female athletes, aging, endurance performance, menopause, cardiorespiratory fitness, lactate kinetics, exercise economy, training volume, cardiac output, body composition, age-related performance decline
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