Immunosurveillance associated with upper respiratory symptoms in elite swimmers: The 8-month period leading into Commonwealth Games.
J Sci Med Sport
; 27(3): 143-148, 2024 Mar.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38071136
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES:
To monitor individual mucosal immunity and identify potential risk factors of upper respiratory symptoms in elite swimmers over a competitive season.DESIGN:
Eight-month longitudinal study, observing mucosal immunity, Epstein-Barr virus status, training loads and illness symptoms of elite international swimmers, leading into the Commonwealth Games 2018.METHODS:
Participants were fourteen elite swimmers (age⯱â¯standard deviationâ¯=â¯19.9⯱â¯0.8â¯years, heightâ¯=â¯178.9⯱â¯6.3â¯cm, and massâ¯=â¯75.0⯱â¯7.7â¯kg). Self-reported upper respiratory symptoms, training load and saliva samples were collected weekly. Venous blood samples were taken at study commencement to determine Epstein-Barr virus status.RESULTS:
Throughout the study, 70 episodes of upper respiratory symptoms were recorded resulting in 34â¯days of missed training. Incidence (pâ¯=â¯0.001), severity (pâ¯=â¯0.022), and duration of upper respiratory symptoms (pâ¯=â¯0.001) were significantly higher during high training loads, compared to low. Eight swimmers (61â¯%) had evidence of past infection with Epstein-Barr virus, but this had no relationship with incidence, severity, or duration of upper respiratory symptoms (pâ¯>â¯0.05). Relative individual salivary immunoglobulin A concentration was 12â¯% lower when upper respiratory symptoms were present but was not statistically significant (pâ¯=â¯0.101).CONCLUSIONS:
This study highlights the importance of individual athlete monitoring, to identify swimmers at increased illness risk. Identification of possible risk factors for upper respiratory symptoms, such as increased training load, may allow for modifications in training or other illness preventative strategies for elite swimmers.Palavras-chave
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Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Natação
/
Infecções por Vírus Epstein-Barr
Limite:
Humans
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2024
Tipo de documento:
Article