The pituitary-testicular axis in non-professional soccer players

In European countries, football is one of the most popular forms of physical exercise. However, the possibility that endocrine changes can arise in football players has not been investigated completely. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of a training program and the consequences of a football match on the pituitary-testicular axis in ten trained non-professional soccer players. Basal levels of LH, FSH, PRL and T, as well as LH, FSH and PRL responses to an iv bolus of GnRH (0.1 mg) plus TRH (0.2 mg), were measured in each subject. The endocrine evaluation was performed before the beginning of the seasonal training (after a 30 days rest period), and repeated on 2 consecutive days at the end of a 3 months regular training program, 14-15 h from the end of both a customary 3 h training session and a 90 min strenuous soccer match. In 5 out of the 10 athletes a semen analysis was performed after each endocrine evaluation. Ten age-matched, healthy, sedentary men served as a control group. Basal serum levels of LH (10.4 +/- 1.3 mIU/ml), FSH (8.7 +/- 1.1 mIU/ml), PRL (9.7 +/- 1.6 ng/ml) and T (6.3 +/- 0.9 ng/ml) measured in the soccer players before the beginning of the seasonal training were similar to those found in the control subjects (LH = 9.2 +/- 1.7 mIU/ml, FSH = 8.5 +/- 1.4 mIU/ml, PRL = 8.8 +/- 1.8 ng/ml, T = 6.4 +/- 1.1 ng/ml).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)