Serum copeptin and midregion proadrenomedullin (MR-proADM) after an ultramarathon

Although it is widely acknowledged that physical activity confers several health benefits, it remains uncertain whether strenuous and physically demanding exercise might determine biological effects that might turn to be ultimately unfavorable for health. Copeptin and midregion proadrenomedullin (MR-proADM) are emerging cardiovascular and stress biomarkers, but little is known about the influence of strenuous physical exercise on their concentrations.

The present study was performed to investigate the variation of copeptin and MRproADM, along with that of serum creatinine and estimated glomerular filtration rate before and after a 60 km ultramarathon in 16 healthy Caucasian males.

The serum concentrations of both copeptin and MR-proADM remarkably increased after the 60 km run, by 6.4 times (interquartile range (IQR), 2.710.4) and 2.3 times (IQR, 1.8-2.6), respectively. A highly significant correlation was observed between the increase of creatinine and MR-proADM, but not between serum creatinine and copeptin. The percentage of subjects exhibiting values above the upper limit of the reference range in male was 0% for both copeptin and MR-proADM before the ultramarathon, but increased to respectively 81 and 63% postexercise.

The evidence that an ultramarathon causes a substantial increase of copeptin and MR-proADM raises doubts as to whether exhaustive exercise might be considered globally beneficial or even safe, especially in unfit or/and untrained population.