A Comparative Study of Hematological Parameters of Endurance Runners at Guna Athletics Sport Club (3100 Meters above Sea Level) and Ethiopian Youth Sport Academy (2400 Meters above Sea Level), Ethiopia.

Zelalem Tilahun Muche,Ediget Abebe Zewdie,Teklie Mengie Ayele,Endeshaw Chekol Abebe,Diresibachew Haile Wondimu,Milkessa Bayissa Midekssa,Mark Willems

doi:10.1155/2021/8415100

Abstract

Introduction Endurance running performance is dependent upon hematological, physiological, anthropometrical, diet, genetic, and training characteristics. Increased oxygen transport and efficiency of tissue in extracting oxygen are the major determinants to competitions that require endurance. Thus, altitude training is often employed to increase blood oxygen-carrying capacity to improve sea-level endurance performance. This study aimed to compare hematological parameters of endurance runners' training at different clubs with different altitudes (Guna Athletics Sport Club at Guna (3100 meter above sea level) and Ethiopian Youth Sport Academy at Addis Ababa (2400 meter above sea level)). Methods A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted at GASC and EYSA. Data were collected from a total of 102 eligible study subjects (26 runners and 25 controls at Guna and 26 runners and 25 controls at Addis Ababa) from May to October 2019. About 3 ml of the venous blood was drawn from the antecubital vein by aseptic procedure and analyzed using a hematology analyzer (DIRUI BCC-3000B, China). One-way ANOVA and independent-sample t-tests were used to compare means. Result Male runners in Guna had significantly higher hemoglobin (Hgb), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), and white blood cell (WBC) count than male runners in Addis Ababa. Besides, female runners in Guna had significantly higher MCH and MCHC than female runners in Addis Ababa. However, there were no significant differences between Guna and Addis Ababa runners in red blood cell (RBC) count, Hct, MCV, and platelet count in both sexes, while Hgb and WBC count in females. Conclusion Decisively, Guna Athletics Sport Club endurance runners had significantly higher hematological parameters than Ethiopian Youth Sport Academy endurance runners. This provides invaluable information for coaches and sport physicians to monitor the hematological profile and the health status of an athlete living and training at different altitudes.

Highlights

Endurance running performance is dependent upon hematological, physiological, anthropometrical, diet, genetic, and training characteristics
Running is one of the most popular sporting events worldwide, and running events range from sprints of 60 meters (m) to ultramarathons covering greater than 42.195 kilometers [1]. e International Association of Athletics Federation classified running as short distance, middle distance (800–3000 m), and long distance (3000-ultramarathon (>marathon))
Our hypothesis was there is no significant difference in hematological parameters between Guna Athletics Sport Club and Ethiopian Youth Sport Academy endurance runners

Summary

Introduction

Endurance running performance is dependent upon hematological, physiological, anthropometrical, diet, genetic, and training characteristics. Us, altitude training is often employed to increase blood oxygen-carrying capacity to improve sea-level endurance performance. Is study aimed to compare hematological parameters of endurance runners’ training at different clubs with different altitudes (Guna Athletics Sport Club at Guna (3100 meter above sea level) and Ethiopian Youth Sport Academy at Addis Ababa (2400 meter above sea level)). Male runners in Guna had significantly higher hemoglobin (Hgb), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), and white blood cell (WBC) count than male runners in Addis Ababa. Guna Athletics Sport Club endurance runners had significantly higher hematological parameters than Ethiopian Youth Sport Academy endurance runners. Altitude training is aimed at increasing the oxygen-carrying capacity of blood to improve sea-level endurance performance in athletes. Altitude training can lead to improved muscle buffering capacity, enhanced capillary density, and muscle mitochondrial volume [11,12,13,14]

Methods

Results

Conclusion