Anemia Profile in Elite Israeli Olympic-Level Athletes-Is Screening Necessary?

Area of Science:

• Sports Medicine
• Clinical Biochemistry
• Hematology

Background:

• Elite athletes undergo regular blood tests to optimize performance.
• Screening for anemia and related factors is common in sports programs.
• The Israeli Olympic team's pre-entry screening practices were examined.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the effectiveness of screening for anemia in elite athletes.
• To evaluate the prevalence of anemia-related biochemical abnormalities.
• To assess the diagnostic yield of these tests in the Israeli Olympic team.

Main Methods:

• Blood samples from 407 Israeli Olympic team members were analyzed.
• Hemoglobin, red blood cell count, and indices were measured.
• Serum levels of iron, transferrin, ferritin, vitamin B12, and folic acid were assessed.

Main Results:

• 10.8% of athletes had low hemoglobin, and 10.3% had low red blood cell counts.
• Low iron (5.2%) and ferritin (3.4%) levels were observed, with higher prevalence in males for iron and females for ferritin.
• Low folic acid (6.1%) and vitamin B12 (1.2%) levels were found; no athletes had both anemia and low ferritin.

Conclusions:

• The diagnostic yield of anemia screening and related biochemical tests in elite athletes may be low.
• Anemia should be identified, but further biochemical testing may be unnecessary for asymptomatic athletes with normal hemoglobin.
• Consideration should be given to the necessity of routine biochemical screening in elite athletes without symptoms.