ARTICLE INFO

Article Type

Original Research

Authors

Alikarami   H. (1)
Nikbakht   M. (*)
Valipour Dehnou   V. (2)
Ghalavand   A. (3)






(*) Exercise Physiology Department, Physical Education Faculty, Shahid Chamran University, Ahwaz, Iran
(1) Exercise Physiology Department, Physical Education Faculty, Shahid Chamran University, Ahwaz, Iran
(2) Sport Sciences Department, Literature & Human Sciences Faculty, Lorestan University, Khorramabad, Iran
(3) Physical Education Department, Abadan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Abadan, Iran

Correspondence

Address: Physical Education Faculty, Golestan Boulevard, Shahid Chamran University, Ahwaz, Iran
Phone: +98 (61) 13330010
Fax: +98 (61) 13330010
nikbakht@ut.ac.ir

Article History

Received:  May  15, 2016
Accepted:  December 13, 2016
ePublished:  March 25, 2017

BRIEF TEXT


… [1]. Iron is a necessary micronutrient in energy production pathways [2] and plays an important role as an essential element in the transfer of oxygen and the process of making hemoglobin and myoglobin [3, 4]. … [5, 6].Iron deficiency has an effect on the activity of mitochondrial enzymes before it can affect hemoglobin levels [7]. … [8-11]. Some activities lead to anemia. Anemia has been shown to decrease hemoglobin concentration, red blood cell count, hematocrit percentage, and ferritin concentration. Exercise increases the amount of daily iron requirement [12].

Studies in animals and humans have shown the relationship between Iron Deficiency without Anemia (IDNA) and physical performance. The IDNA outcome is reduction in endurance and energetic efficiency for athletes [10]. It has also been shown that iron depletion may disrupt oxygen dissipation and physical functioning [1]. Schumacher et al. reported 10% iron depletion in athletic men and 20% iron depletion in athletic women [13]. While some studies have shown that serum iron has been increased, but serum ferritin has been decreased [14]. … [15].

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of 8 weeks of moderate continuous aerobic exercise on the serum status in club level football players.

This study is semi-experimental.

This research was conducted in 2014 on men football players who were members of first division football clubs in the city of Khoramshahr.

For this research, 24 soccer men were selected using convenience sampling method.

Blood sampling was carried out 24 hours before and after intervention by laboratory sampler observing standard conditions and in sitting form from the right radial vein of subjects between 7:30 and 8:00 am in the fasting state. At each state, 5 cc blood were taken from each subject for CBC (Cell Blood Count) and ferritin tests and serum iron (Fe), Total Iron Binding Capacity (TIBC), Red Blood Cell Counting (RBC), Hemoglobin (Hb), Hematocrit (Hct) and serum ferritin were measured. Exercise intervention included 8 weeks of aerobic running with an intensity of 70-80% of maximum heart rate monitored by the researcher. To control the intensity of exercise, heart rate counting was used before, during and after the exercise and as a carotid pulse rate count by athletes. The first training session was 30 minutes long. In order to comply with the principle of incremental overhead, a minute was added to running time in each session. Before starting the training, the 10 minutes of the warm-up included soft running, and active stretching was done and after the main body of workout, the cool down included fast walking for 5 minutes and passive stretching was done. The control group did not have any exercise during this period. However, they were physically active; that is, they were not completely motionless. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used to check the normal distribution of data. Then dependent t-test was used for data analysis. The results were presented as mean. Statistical analysis: Dependent t-test was used for analyzing the data.

In the pretest stage, the two groups did not differ significantly in demographic characteristics of age, height, weight, and body mass index (p>0.05; Table 1). After 8 weeks of training, the serum levels of iron, hematocrit and ferritin in the experimental group were significantly lower than the pretest and in the control group the total iron binding capacity was significantly decreased (p<0.05; Table 2).

In the experimental group, 8 weeks of moderate intensity aerobic exercise caused a significant decrease in serum level compared to the control group. The results of Wolf et al. study showed that iron levels are lower in athletes than in others [12]. Research findings from Ramazanpour and Kazemi, also, showed that after three weeks of interval running exercise with intensity of 75-85% of maximum heart rate, there was a significant decrease in serum iron levels in female students [16]. Also, Musavi et al. reported a significant decrease in serum iron level after eight weeks of aerobic exercise with intensity of 60-65% of reserve heart rate [17], the results of which are consistent with the findings of this study. Additionally, studies have reported that regular aerobic exercise results in the reduction of iron store in the body, which puts a large number of women at risk for iron deficiency, while regular physical activity is proposed as part of healthy lifestyle [11]. Musavizadeh et al. have reported a significant reduction in plasma ferritin level after eight weeks of aerobic training [17] which is consistent with the findings of this study. In the present study, serum iron and ferritin showed a significant decrease. The reduction of hematological parameters due to aerobic training is caused by increased plasma volume which is a useful mechanism for adapting to endurance exercises [17]. … [18-24]. In this study, the number of red blood cells in both groups did not change significantly. However, in the control group, it tended to increase, and in the experimental group it tended to decline. The reasons of reduction of the number of red blood cells in athletes are their destruction in the blood cells, as well as loss of red blood cells in the stool caused by the capillaries break in the digestive tract during exercise especially in endurance exercise [25].

It is suggested that athletes regularly monitor the hematological factors associated with athletic activities during off-season exercise and during other exercises. Also, it is suggested that athletes involved in endurance sports, take iron supplement at the early stages of aerobic exercise.

One of the limitations of this study was the lack of precise control of intensity of exercise which was manually performed by the number of pulses. Failure to control the nutritional status of the two groups during the study was other limitation of this study.

8 weeks of moderate intensity aerobic exercise results in the decrease in iron level, hematocrit, and serum ferritin in club-level football players.

We would like to thank the participants who participated in this study, as well as the officials of the Football Association of Lorestan Province.

There is no conflicts of interests.

Subjects voluntarily completed the written consent form and announced their willingness to participate in the research.

The present research has been accomplished without the use of financial resources of any organization and institution.

TABLES and CHARTS

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