Table 3.

Longitudinal studies, examining the effect of the active/inactive phase of the oral contraceptive cycle on $\dot{\text{V}}$O_2max.

Author(s), year	n	Performance test	Oral contraceptive	EE	Progestin	Duration of OC use	Test phase	Results	Risk of bias (NOS)
								$\dot{\text{V}}$O2max (ml/kg/min)
Gordon et al., 2018[40]	6	cycle ergometer	mono-phasic	30 mcg	levonorgestrel 150 mcg	>3 months	day 1–3, interpreted as inactive-pill phase	44.9 +/− 5.0	high
							day 19–20, interpreted as active-pill phase	44.3 +/− 3.6
Mattu et al., 2019 [11]	15	cycle ergometer	mono-phasic	20–35 mcg	levonorgestrel (n = 10) desogestrel (n = 5)	>6 months	inactive-pill phase	45.5 +/− 5.3	moderate
							active-pill phase	45.2 +/− 4.3
Nakamura & Nose-Ogura, 2021 [39]	10	cycle ergometer	mono-phasic	20 mcg	norethisterone 1 mg	3 months	inactive-pill phase	40.7 +/− 5.3	low
							active-pill phase	41.1 +/− 5.3
Vaiksaar et al., 2011 [36]	8	rowing ergometer	mono-phasic	20 mcg	75 mcg gestodene	>3 months	active-pill phase	45.9 +/− 5.7	low
							inactive-pill phase	44.3 +/−5.5

Note. Values are reported as means +/− SD.

OC: oral contraceptive, EE: Ethinyl estradiol, n: number of participants, NOS: Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale.