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Brief communication: pituitary volume and function in competing and retired male boxers
Fatih Tanriverdi1, Kursad Unluhizarci, Ismail Kocyigit
1Erciyes University Medical School, Kayseri, Turkey, and Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Santiago de Compostela, Spain. fatihtan@erciyes.edu.tr
Background:
Pituitary consequences of chronic head trauma in boxing have not been investigated in detail.
Objective:
To investigate the pituitary function in retired or active amateur boxers.
Design:
Cross-sectional, observational study.
Setting:
Turkey.
Participants:
61 actively competing (n = 44) or retired (n = 17) male boxers of the Turkish National Boxing Team.
Measurements:
Body composition variables, pituitary volume (in 38 of 61 boxers), and pituitary function.
Results:
9 of 61 boxers (15%) had growth hormone (GH) deficiency and 5 of 61 boxers (8%) had adrenocorticotropic hormone deficiency. All boxers with GH deficiency except 1 were retired from boxing. Of 17 retired boxers, 8 (47%) had GH deficiency. Retired boxers with GH deficiency had significantly lower pituitary volume than retired boxers with normal GH.
Limitation:
Pituitary volume was measured in only 38 of 61 boxers, and the study had no comparison group.
Conclusion:
This study suggests that retired boxers have a high rate of pituitary dysfunction. Therefore, investigation of pituitary function in boxers, particularly retired ones, is recommended.
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