Alveolar gas exchange and tissue deoxygenation during exercise in type 1 diabetes patients and healthy controls.

We used near-infrared spectroscopy to investigate whether leg and arm skeletal muscle and cerebral deoxygenation differ during incremental cycling exercise in men with type 1 diabetes (T1D, n=10, mean±SD age 33±7 years) and healthy control men (matched by age, anthrometry, and self-reported physical activity, CON, n=10, 32±7 years) to seek an explanation for lower aerobic capacity (˙VO2peak) often reported in T1D. T1D had lower ˙VO2peak (35±4mlkg(-1)min(-1) vs. 43±8mlkg(-1)min(-1), P0.01) and peak work rate (219±33W vs. 290±44W, P0.001) than CON. Leg muscle deoxygenation (↑ [deoxyhemoglobin]; ↓ tissue saturation index) was greater in T1D than CON at a given absolute submaximal work rate, bu…