Does hemoglobin mass increase from age 16 to 21 and 28 in elite endurance athletes?

Steiner, Thomas; Wehrlin, Jon Peter (2011). Does hemoglobin mass increase from age 16 to 21 and 28 in elite endurance athletes? Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 43(9), pp. 1735-1743. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins 10.1249/MSS.0b013e3182118760

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Purpose: It is unclear if hemoglobin mass (Hbmass) and red cell volume (RCV) increase in endurance athletes with several years of endurance training from adolescence to adulthood. The aim of this study, therefore, was to determine with a controlled cross-sectional approach whether endurance athletes at the ages of 16, 21, and 28 yr are characterized by different Hbmass, RCV, plasma volume (PV), and blood volume (BV). Methods: BV parameters (CO rebreathing), V˙O2max and other blood, iron, training, and anthropometric parameters were measured in three endurance athlete groups AG16 (n = 14), AG21 (n = 14), and AG28 (n = 16) as well as in three age-matched control groups (<2 h endurance training per week): CG16 (n = 16), CG21 (n = 15), and CG28 (n = 16). Results: In AG16, body weight-related Hbmass (12.4 ± 0.7 g·kg−1), RCV, BV, and V˙O2max (66.1 ± 3.8 mL·kg−1·min−1) were lower (P < 0.001) than those in AG21 (14.2 ± 1.1 g·kg−1, 72.9 ± 3.6 mL·kg−1·min−1) and AG28 (14.6 ± 1.1 g·kg−1, 73.4 ± 6.0 mL·kg−1·min−1). Results for these parameters did not differ between AG21 and AG28 and among the control groups. V˙O2max, PV, and BV were higher for AG16 than for CG16 (12.0 ± 1.0 g·kg−1, 58.9 ± 5.0 mL·kg−1·min−1) but not Hbmass and RCV. Conclusions: Our results suggest that endurance training has major effects on Hbmass and RCV from ages 16 to 21 yr, although there is no further increase from ages 21 to 28 yr in top endurance athletes. On the basis of our findings, an early detection of the aptitude for endurance sports at age 16 yr, solely based on levels of Hbmass, does not seem to be possible.

Item Type:	Journal Article (Original Article)
Division/Institute:	Swiss Federal Institute of Sports Magglingen SFISM > EHSM - Leistungssport > Sportphysiologie Ausdauer
Name:	Steiner, Thomas and Wehrlin, Jon Peter
ISSN:	0195-9131 (Print) 1530-0315 (Online)
Publisher:	Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
Language:	English
Submitter:	Service Account
Date Deposited:	01 Mar 2021 15:37
Last Modified:	01 Nov 2021 02:18
Publisher DOI:	10.1249/MSS.0b013e3182118760
PubMed ID:	21311364
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Blood volume Co rebreathing Adolescents Training Aerobic capacity
ARBOR DOI:	10.24451/arbor.11065
URI:	https://arbor.bfh.ch/id/eprint/11065