Analysis of the effects of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity

Abstract

Objectives: Menstrual cycle (MC) can affect not only the female reproductive system, but also functions such as neuromuscular performance. For this reason. the aim of this study is to investigate the effect of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) activity in MC on proprioception, balance and reaction times. Methods: For cortisol analysis, saliva samples were taken from the same women (n=43) in the four phases of MC. While State Trait Anxiety Inventory-I (STAI-I) was applied in each phase to support cortisol analysis, pain was measured with visual analogue scale (VAS). Proprioception, dynamic balance, visual and auditory reaction times (VRT-ART) measurements were made in the four phases of MC. Results: Cortisol, STAI-I and VAS scores, angular deviations in proprioception measurements, dynamic balance scores, VRT and ART measurements were found to show statistically significant difference between MC phases (p<0.05). As a result of the post hoc test conducted to find out which MC phase the statistical difference resulted from, it was found that statistically significant difference was caused by the mensturation (M) phase (p<0.05). Conclusions: It was found that neuromuscular performance and postural control was negatively affected by HPA axis activity in M phase of MC and by pain, which is a significant menstrual symptom.

C1 [Senol, Deniz] Duzce Univ, Fac Med, Dept Anat, Duzce, Turkey.

[Ucar, Cihat] Adiyaman Univ, Fac Med, Dept Physiol, Adiyaman, Turkey.

[Toy, Seyma] Karabuk Univ, Fac Med, Dept Anat, Karabuk, Turkey.

[Kisaoglu, Aysegul; Ozbag, Davut] Inonu Univ, Fac Med, Dept Anat, Malatya, Turkey.

[Ersoy, Yuksel] Inonu Univ, Fac Med, Dept Phys Med & Rehabil, Malatya, Turkey.

[Yildiz, Sedat] Inonu Univ, Fac Med, Dept Physiol, Malatya, Turkey.