The (in)dependency of blood and sweat sodium, chloride, potassium, ammonia, lactate and glucose concentrations during submaximal exercise

L Klous,C J De Ruiter,S Scherrer,H A M Daanen,N Gerrett

doi:10.1007/s00421-020-04562-8

L Klous, C J De Ruiter + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-020-04562-8

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Abstract

PurposeTo reduce the need for invasive and expensive measures of human biomarkers, sweat is becoming increasingly popular in use as an alternative to blood. Therefore, the (in)dependency of blood and sweat composition has to be explored.MethodsIn an environmental chamber (33 °C, 65% relative humidity; RH), 12 participants completed three subsequent 20-min cycling stages to elicit three different local sweat rates (LSR) while aiming to limit changes in blood composition: at 60% of their maximum heart rate (HRmax), 70% HRmax and 80% HRmax, with 5 min of seated-rest in between. Sweat was collected from the arm and back during each stage and post-exercise. Blood was drawn from a superficial antecubital vein in the middle of each stage. Concentrations of sodium, chloride, potassium, ammonia, lactate and glucose were determined in blood plasma and sweat.ResultsWith increasing exercise intensity, LSR, sweat sodium, chloride and glucose concentrations increased (P ≤ 0.026), while simultaneously limited changes in blood composition were elicited for these components (P ≥ 0.093). Sweat potassium, lactate and ammonia concentrations decreased (P ≤ 0.006), while blood potassium decreased (P = 0.003), and blood ammonia and lactate concentrations increased with higher exercise intensities (P = 0.005; P = 0.007, respectively). The vast majority of correlations between blood and sweat parameters were non-significant (P > 0.05), with few exceptions.ConclusionThe data suggest that sweat composition is at least partly independent of blood composition. This has important consequences when targeting sweat as non-invasive alternative for blood measurements.

Highlights

To reduce the need for invasive and expensive measures of human biomarkers, there is a considerable interest in the development of continuous and non-invasive measurement techniques that are commonly manifested in wearable sensors (Alizadeh et al 2018; Gao et al 2016, 2018; Heikenfeld1 3 Vol.:(0123456789)European Journal of Applied Physiology (2021) 121:803–816 et al 2018)
The purpose of this study was to investigate whether relations between blood and sweat sodium, chloride, potassium, ammonia, lactate and glucose would exist within the ranges that are usually found during submaximal exercise in healthy individuals
Due to a relatively low local sweat rates (LSR) for one of the female participants, sweat sodium, chloride and potassium concentrations could not be determined during 60% HRmax on the arm and during post-exercise on the arm and back

Summary

Introduction

To reduce the need for invasive and expensive measures of human biomarkers, there is a considerable interest in the development of continuous and non-invasive measurement techniques that are commonly manifested in wearable sensors (Alizadeh et al 2018; Gao et al 2016, 2018; Heikenfeld1 3 Vol.:(0123456789)European Journal of Applied Physiology (2021) 121:803–816 et al 2018). Despite the development of several wearable sweat sensors (Alizadeh et al 2018; Gao et al 2016), these advance far quicker than scientific knowledge on the physiological mechanisms determining sweat composition. Since extracellular fluid is the precursor for primary sweat in the coil of eccrine sweat glands (Kuno 1956), direct relations between blood and sweat composition are sometimes assumed. Before eccrine sweat is released onto the skin surface, modifications to the primary solution are made during its passage along the sweat glands duct (Baker and Wolfe 2020). Due to such modifications, blood and sweat composition do not necessarily relate

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