{"title":"Impact of Menstrual Cycle and Oral Contraceptives on Haematological and Inflammatory Biomarkers in Highly Trained Female Athletes.","authors":"Katia Collomp, Caroline Teulier, Carole Castanier, Juliette Bonnigal, Alexandre Marchand, Corinne Buisson, Magnus Ericsson, Nathalie Crépin, Emmanuelle Duron, Eric Favory, Mathieu Zimmermann, Virgile Amiot, Agnès Olivier","doi":"10.1002/dta.3859","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Haematological and inflammatory biomarkers play an important role in athlete performance and health, with some of them used in the fight against doping. However, little is known about how they are modulated by sex hormone fluctuations in highly trained female athletes. We therefore measured the haematological parameters monitored in the athlete biological passport (ABP) as well as erythropoietin, serum markers of iron and inflammatory statuses (iron, ferritin, transferrin, transferrin saturation, albumin, creatinine, total protein, interleukin-6 and TNF-alpha) in 20 highly trained female athletes: 10 with normal menstrual cycle (NMC) during the early follicular and mid-luteal phases and 10 using a combined oral contraceptive (COC, i.e., ethinyloestradiol and levonorgestrel) during active and inactive hormone intake. Body composition, leptin and lipid profile (total cholesterol, HDL, LDL and triglycerides) were determined in parallel. No changes were observed throughout NMC phases. Irrespective of active/inactive pill intake, COC use increased transferrin, triglycerides as well as reticulocyte count (p < 0.05) and decreased interleukin-6 (p < 0.05), with no significant changes in the other parameters studied. In conclusion, given our results across NMC phases in highly trained athletes, it seems warranted to investigate whether intense physical training would mitigate the impact of endogenous sex hormones on body composition and haematological and inflammatory parameters. In addition, further studies are needed to determine the extent of the changes induced by COCs on these blood biomarkers in elite female athletes when subjected to extreme environments such as intensive training or competition in humid heat, cold and/or hypoxia or when using other medications in parallel.</p>","PeriodicalId":160,"journal":{"name":"Drug Testing and Analysis","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6000,"publicationDate":"2025-02-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Drug Testing and Analysis","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1002/dta.3859","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"BIOCHEMICAL RESEARCH METHODS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Haematological and inflammatory biomarkers play an important role in athlete performance and health, with some of them used in the fight against doping. However, little is known about how they are modulated by sex hormone fluctuations in highly trained female athletes. We therefore measured the haematological parameters monitored in the athlete biological passport (ABP) as well as erythropoietin, serum markers of iron and inflammatory statuses (iron, ferritin, transferrin, transferrin saturation, albumin, creatinine, total protein, interleukin-6 and TNF-alpha) in 20 highly trained female athletes: 10 with normal menstrual cycle (NMC) during the early follicular and mid-luteal phases and 10 using a combined oral contraceptive (COC, i.e., ethinyloestradiol and levonorgestrel) during active and inactive hormone intake. Body composition, leptin and lipid profile (total cholesterol, HDL, LDL and triglycerides) were determined in parallel. No changes were observed throughout NMC phases. Irrespective of active/inactive pill intake, COC use increased transferrin, triglycerides as well as reticulocyte count (p < 0.05) and decreased interleukin-6 (p < 0.05), with no significant changes in the other parameters studied. In conclusion, given our results across NMC phases in highly trained athletes, it seems warranted to investigate whether intense physical training would mitigate the impact of endogenous sex hormones on body composition and haematological and inflammatory parameters. In addition, further studies are needed to determine the extent of the changes induced by COCs on these blood biomarkers in elite female athletes when subjected to extreme environments such as intensive training or competition in humid heat, cold and/or hypoxia or when using other medications in parallel.
期刊介绍:
As the incidence of drugs escalates in 21st century living, their detection and analysis have become increasingly important. Sport, the workplace, crime investigation, homeland security, the pharmaceutical industry and the environment are just some of the high profile arenas in which analytical testing has provided an important investigative tool for uncovering the presence of extraneous substances.
In addition to the usual publishing fare of primary research articles, case reports and letters, Drug Testing and Analysis offers a unique combination of; ‘How to’ material such as ‘Tutorials’ and ‘Reviews’, Speculative pieces (‘Commentaries’ and ‘Perspectives'', providing a broader scientific and social context to the aspects of analytical testing), ‘Annual banned substance reviews’ (delivering a critical evaluation of the methods used in the characterization of established and newly outlawed compounds).
Rather than focus on the application of a single technique, Drug Testing and Analysis employs a unique multidisciplinary approach to the field of controversial compound determination. Papers discussing chromatography, mass spectrometry, immunological approaches, 1D/2D gel electrophoresis, to name just a few select methods, are welcomed where their application is related to any of the six key topics listed below.