Comparing metabolic profiles between female endurance athletes and non-athletes reveals differences in androgen and corticosteroid levels

Endurance training is associated with physiological changes in elite athletes, but little is known about femalespecific effects of endurance training. Despite the significant rise in female sports participation, findings from studies performed on male athletes are largely extrapolated to females without taking into consideration sexspecific differences in metabolism. Subsequently, this study aimed to investigate the steroid hormone profiles of elite female endurance athletes in comparison with their non-athletic counterparts. Untargeted metabolomicsbased mass spectroscopy combined with ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography was performed on serum samples from 51 elite female endurance athletes and 197 non-athletic females. The results showed that, compared to non-athletic females, certain androgen, pregnenolone, and progestin steroid hormones were reduced in elite female endurance athletes, while corticosteroids were elevated. The most significantly altered steroid hormones were 5alpha-androstan-3alpha,17alpha-diol monosulfate (FDR = 1.90 x 10-05), androstenediol (3alpha, 17alpha) monosulfate (FDR = 2.93 x 10-04), and cortisol (FDR = 2.93 x 10-04). Conclusively, the present study suggests that elite female endurance athletes have a unique steroid hormone profile with implications on their general health and performance.