The influence of training status on oxidative stress in young male handball players

Although exercise-induced oxidative stress receives considerable scientific attention, there is still little information available regarding exercise-induced adaptations of the antioxidant defence system in adolescent and child athletes. The aim of our study was to establish the effects of long-term exercise training on the redox state of adolescents, and to find correlations between elements of redox homeostasis and aerobic power. Thirty-three handball players and 14 non-athletes, 16-19-years old, were subjected to blood sampling to measure levels of nitric oxide (NO; estimated through nitrites (NO₂⁻), superoxide anion radical (O₂⁻), hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), lipid peroxidation (estimated through TBARS), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT). Subjects were also subjected to maximal progressive exercise test to estimate their maximal oxygen consumption (VO₂max). Athletes had significantly (P < 0.05) higher SOD activity and lower CAT activity compared with non-athletes (SOD: 2175.52 ± 362.07 compared with 1172.16 ± 747.40 U/g of hemoglobin x 10³, and CAT: 2.19 ± 0.31 compared with 3.08 ± 0.47 U/g of hemoglobin x 10³). These differences were the most obvious when comparing non-athletes and athletes with poor/average aerobic power. H₂O₂ and TBARS levels differed among subjects with poor, average or good aerobic power (P < 0.01, and P < 0.05, respectively). Sports engagement and aerobic capacity are important factors in inducing changes in redox status.