The Impact of Endurance Exercise on Routine Laboratory Parameters in Young Trained Individuals

Area of Science:

• Sports Medicine
• Clinical Biochemistry
• Exercise Physiology

Background:

• Endurance exercise enhances aerobic capacity.
• Physical exertion causes fluid shifts, impacting laboratory test accuracy.
• Assessing exercise effects on diagnostic tests is crucial for athletes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of endurance exercise on routine hematological and biochemical diagnostic tests.
• To determine if standard reference ranges are applicable to athletes post-exercise.

Main Methods:

• Progressive treadmill tests to exhaustion were conducted on healthy, physically active young adults.
• Blood samples were collected pre-exercise, immediately post-exercise, and after 17 hours of recovery.
• Hematological and biochemical parameters were analyzed.

Main Results:

• Transient increases in peripheral blood leukocytes and subpopulations were observed.
• Endurance exercise elevated levels of enzymes (amylase, AST, ALT, CK, GGT, LDH, ALP) and metabolites (creatinine, urea, uric acid, glucose).
• Concentrations of total protein, albumin, lipids, electrolytes (Na, Cl), phosphorus, and iron increased, while potassium and calcium decreased.

Conclusions:

• Laboratory test results in highly trained individuals can be difficult to interpret.
• Standard reference ranges for the general population may not be suitable for athletes.
• Exercise-induced physiological changes necessitate careful consideration in clinical diagnostics for athletes.