Comparative analysis of hematological parameters in well-trained athletes and untrained men

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of current study was to investigate the hematology parameters of male athletes who had exercised regularly for five years and sedentary male university students. Material and Methods: The sample consisted of 18 well-trained and 18 sedentary male university students aged between 20 and 22 years old. The peripheral fasting blood samples were collected from each participant. Laboratory analysis was made to determine the red and white blood cells counts and their concentration percentage. Results. The means of white blood cell, lymphocyte, monocyte counts, and lymphocyte and monocyte percentages were significantly lower in the well-trained group while the means of hemoglobin count, mean cell hemoglobin, red blood cell distribution width were significantly lower in sedentary group ( p > .05 ). However, no statistically significant difference between groups was found in red blood cell counts, granulocyte counts, and granulocyte percentages ( p > .05 ). Conclusion. Our findings show that athletes participating in the long-term regular exercise have the high level of the concentration of red blood cells subtypes and the low level of the concentration of white blood cells subtypes when compared to their sedentary peers. Because their hematologic values remain within the reference range for healthy people, these differences do not pose any serious clinical problems for athletes. The high RBC and low WBC subtypes values of athletes may be explained by chronic adaptation to long-term exercise.