Abstract
The present systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to assess the perturbations in hormonal and psychological homeostasis in response to soccer match-play. These perturbations were explored according to match outcome (i.e., win versus loss), gender, type of contest (i.e., competitive versus non-competitive fixtures) and competitive level (i.e., novice versus high-level). The review was conducted according to the Population/Intervention or Exposure/Comparison/Outcome(s) (PICO) criteria and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Match outcome, type of contest and competitive levels were moderator variables in the examined steroid hormones responses to a soccer match-play. Different testosterone responses were seen between match winners (increase) and losers (decrease) when compared to pre-game or baseline values (p <0.05), whilst no changes could be detected for cortisol relative to match outcome in female soccer players. Males (Δ% = 6.26; ES = 0.28) demonstrated a marginally lower increase in testosterone levels when compared to females (Δ% = 49.16; ES = 1.00), though not statistically significant. Females (Δ% = 162.7; ES = 0.98) did not demonstrate elevated cortisol match response compared to males (Δ% = 34.60; ES = 1.20). Male novice soccer match-play increased cortisol levels compared to high-level soccer match-play (Q = 18.08, p<0.001). Competitive soccer matches increased cortisol levels compared to non-competitive fixtures (i.e., collegiate tournament). Additionally, competitive levels moderate the relationship between a soccer match and testosterone levels (p <0.001), regardless of gender differences. From the presented systematic review and meta-analysis it appears (1) cortisol changes are associated with cognitive anxiety in starter female soccer players, while (2) testosterone changes are associated with changes in mood state in females and social connectedness in male soccer players. This apparent psycho-physiological relationship may proffer the opportunity for targeted intervention(s) by practitioners to favorably influence performance and/or recovery agendas. Further mechanistic and/or applied evidence is required in this regard in addition to further data sets from females.
Highlights
Soccer is a high-intensity intermittent sport characterized by high variability within and between games [1,2]
The systematic search was conducted using different databases, as recommended by the Cochrane Association, namely PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus (Elsevier), SciVerse ScienceDirect (Elsevier), Institute for Scientific Information (ISI)/Web of Science (WoS), SPORTDiscus, ProQuest, Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS), the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR) of the Cochrane Library, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), the Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO), and Google Scholar with dates ranging from the earliest record to April 2016
Cortisol changes were driven by changes in cognitive anxiety for starter female soccer players, while testosterone changes were driven by changes in mood state for females and social connectedness for male soccer players (Table 9)
Summary
Soccer is a high-intensity intermittent sport characterized by high variability within and between games [1,2] Various contextual factors such as match score, tactics, fixture time and location, environmental conditions, League ranking, championship or cup competition, travel demands proximal to competition, amongst others, can influence match-play characteristics and post-game psycho-physiological responses [3,4]. Adaptive changes to stressors can be classed as behavioural or physical, which can interact along with the brain and its peripheral components to simulate the hypothalamicpituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) and the autonomic sympathetic system [5] These systems have interrelated psychological (e.g., anxiety and mood state) and physiological (e.g., cortisol and testosterone responses) components (e.g., responses are psycho-physiological in nature). Such HPT/HPA data has been used to determine player preparedness for subsequent training and competition, and inform individualized recovery strategies [9,10,11]
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