Erythrocytes, hemoglobin and
packed cell volume in athletes performing races in altitude
environment
Giuseppe Banfi, Giulio Sergio Roi, Alberto Dolci
Laboratorio di Analisi Mediche e Medicina dello Sport, Clinica S.
Maria, Castellanza (VA), Italy
Correspondence: Dr. G. Banfi, Laboratorio di Analisi Mediche e
Medicina dello Sport, Clinica S. Maria, Castellanza (VA), Italy
Abstract
Endurance athletes usually show lower values of packed cell volume (haematocrit; Ht), haemoglobin (Hb) and erythrocytes (RBC), compared to untrained healthy subjects. Since 1992 endurance running competitions in a mountain environment have been successfully introduced. The runners who perform these particular races are usually called skyrunners and they are showing anthropometric characteristics typical of marathoners.1-4 We present these results for contributing to the current debate on haematological parameters as indices of health status of sportsmen.
Text
We measured the haematological parameters of skyrunners before and after the races for studying the health and training characteristics of athletes and for evaluating possible modifications due to mountain environment and heavy muscolar effort.
The characteristics of the races are summarized in the Tables. The measurement of plasma osmolality assured that blood volume was not modified and the lactate levels on whole blood testified that the performances were aerobic. We present in this study the results of 17 athletes participating at Monte Rosa Race '93 and 5 at Monte Rosa '95; fourtheen athletes were recruited in the Trofeo Kima in '96, 19 in '97 and 14 in '98. Four participants at Cervinia Race and 9 of Trofeo Davide have been also included. In total, we have the data of 82 athletes. The blood drawing were performed before the start of the races (7 a.m.) and immediately after the arrival of the athletes. The blood was collected in Vacutainer Tubes (Becton Dickinson, Franklin Lanes, USA) with the anticoagulant K3EDTA. When blood was collected at altitude higher than 1,500 m special tubes have been used, having a vacuum higher than usual to assure, in an environment with reduced athmospheric pressure, the exact filling of 3 mL of whole blood, avoiding problems of dilution of the sample. The tubes were stored at 20°C and carried out before 5 hours from blood drawing by the same laboratory physician. The assays were performed on Coulter Microdiff 18, transported on the mountains area for Monte Rosa Races, or Coulter STKR (Coulter, Hialeah, USA). The values of erythrocytes, haemoglobin and packed cell volume are presented in the Tables. There were not significant differences between the pre and post-race values for all the observed competitions. The data of the present study show haematological values into reference range and are consistent with the results observed in previous endurance competitions as marathons performed at sea level.5-8 The observed data showed a consistent stability of erythrocytes, haemoglobin, and packed cell volume in experienced mountain runners. The observation of the same race in different editions corroborates the practical significance and usefulness of data. In addition, we standardized also the blood drawing, the period elapsed from drawing to analyses and the instrumentation, in order to reduce the preanalytical variables, which can greatly influence the haematological data.9,10 Our data can be important for two reasons. Firstly, also haematological parameters confirm our previous studies in which we affirmed that skyrunning, an extreme sport performance, is not characterized by pathological or dangerous or unhealthy modifications of biochemical indices. Moreover, our data could be useful for the present scientific debate about the use of haemoglobin and (or) packed cell volume for following health status of athletes. The haematological parameters are stable in a representative group of athletes, correctly and specifically trained and prepared for sport exercises, even in extreme conditions. The parameters could used as an index of general health status of athletes before and after the performances.
