Antioxidant status, oxidative stress, and damage in elite kayakers after 1 year of training and competition in 2 seasons

Abstract

The large volume of training performed by elite athletes throughout the season can translate into a chronic oxidative insult. To study the effects that chronically high training loads have on athletes' redox status, superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione reductase, glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and creatine kinase activities; total antioxidant status (TAS); and uric acid, retinol, alpha-tocopherol, alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, lycopene, lutein + zeaxanthin, vitamin C, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), interleukin-6, and cortisol levels were determined in 9 kayakers (6 men) in a competitive period during the first season (June, T1), and in precompetitive (March, T2) and competitive (June, T3) periods during the following season. TAS decreased from the first to the second season (T1 vs. T2, p < 0.001; T1 vs. T3, p < 0.001). TBARS (p = 0.024) decreased from T1 to T2. The alpha-tocopherol increase (p = 0.001) from T1 to T2 lost statistical significance after adjustment for total lipids (p = 0.243). GPx (p = 0.003) increased, while SOD (p < 0.001) and uric acid (p = 0.032) decreased from T2 to T3. Cortisol levels decreased significantly throughout the study (T1 vs. T2, p = 0.042; T2 vs. T3, p = 0.018; T1 vs. T3, p = 0.002). No significant differences were observed for any of the other parameters studied. Antioxidant status changed more within the same season than from one season to another. Redox markers should be monitored throughout the season to detect athletes at an increased oxidative risk.