Hematological and iron status in aerobic vs. anaerobic female athletes: an observational study

Doaa A Osman; Mohamed Ismail Elassal; Hamada Ahmed Hamada; Reham Hamed Saad Hamza; Hoda Mohammed Zakaria; Reem Alwhaibi; Gehan A Abdelsamea

doi:10.3389/fspor.2024.1453254

Hematological and iron status in aerobic vs. anaerobic female athletes: an observational study

Front Sports Act Living. 2024 Nov 11:6:1453254. doi: 10.3389/fspor.2024.1453254. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Doaa A Osman¹, Mohamed Ismail Elassal^{2

3}, Hamada Ahmed Hamada⁴, Reham Hamed Saad Hamza⁵, Hoda Mohammed Zakaria⁶, Reem Alwhaibi⁷, Gehan A Abdelsamea^{1

8}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Physical Therapy for Women's Health, Faculty of Physical Therapy, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt.
² Department of Physical Therapy for Pediatrics, Faculty of Physical Therapy, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt.
³ Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Al Zaytoonah University, Amman, Jordan.
⁴ Department of Biomechanics, Faculty of Physical Therapy, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt.
⁵ Department of Physical Therapy for Women's Health, Faculty of Physical Therapy, Heliopolis University for Sustainable Development, Cairo, Egypt.
⁶ Department of Physical Therapy for Neurology, Faculty of Physical Therapy, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt.
⁷ Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
⁸ Department of Physical Therapy for Women's Health, Faculty of Physical Therapy, Delta University for Science and Technology, Gamasa, Egypt.

Abstract

Introduction: Physical training induces iron status impairment in athletic females in the short term and over prolonged periods. Nevertheless, the existing literature lacks a comprehensive evaluation of the differential impacts of aerobic vs. anaerobic training on hematological indices and iron status among adolescent female athletes. The aim of this study was to assess the hematological factors and iron status in aerobic vs. anaerobic training in athletic females.

Methods: This observational, cross-sectional study recruited twenty-five adolescent athletic females; thirteen of them participated in an aerobic sport (long-distance running), while twelve of them participated in an anaerobic sport (broad jumping). Hematological factors were assessed by analyzing blood concentrations of hemoglobin (Hb), hematocrit (Hct), red blood cell (RBC) count, mean corpuscular volume (MCV), and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), while the iron status assessment was conducted through evaluating levels of serum transferrin and serum ferritin.

Results: Athletic females who participated in the aerobic sport showed significantly lower Hb (MD -0.84; 95% CI -1.63: -0.04; p = 0.041), Hct (MD -5.49; 95% CI -7.86: -3.12; p = 0.0001), RBC count (MD -0.37; 95% CI -0.57: -0.17; p = 0.001), and MCV (MD -5.15; 95% CI -9.41: -0.89; p = 0.020), as well as significantly higher MCHC (MD 2.99; 95% CI 2.18: 3.79; p = 0.0001) and serum transferrin (MD 46.77; 95% CI 10.95: 82.59; p = 0.013) than athletic females who participated in the anaerobic sport. However, there was an insignificant difference in serum ferritin levels (MD -3.18; 95% CI -11.49: 5.13; p = 0.437) between both groups.

Conclusion: Except for the ferritin level that exhibited an insignificant difference between aerobic and anaerobic training, aerobic training was associated with a worse impact on the hematological factors and iron status than anaerobic training in adolescent athletic females.

Keywords: adolescence; aerobic training; anaerobic training; athletic females; ferritin; hematological factors; transferrin.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This research was funded by Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University Researchers Supporting Project number (PNURSP2024R117), Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, P.O. Box 84428. Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia.