Intravascular Hemolysis in Aerobic Dancing: The Role of Floor Surface and Type of Routine

Prevalence of iron deficiency among university kendo practitioners in Japan: an observational cohort study

Background

Iron deficiency is widely recognized as being the cause of anemia in athletes, although iron status in athletes of Kendo, a traditional Japanese martial art based on swordsmanship and practiced as an educational sport, has not been widely investigated.

Methods

We performed a health assessment on anemia and serum ferritin levels, along with nutrient intake evaluation, for Kendo practitioners in a university in Japan.

Results

A total of 56 Kendo practitioners (39 male and 17 female) aged between 18 and 23 years participated in the study. No individuals exhibited WHO-defined anemia (less than 13 or 12 g/dL of hemoglobin levels in male or female), while hypoferritinemia (less than 30 ng/mL) was found in seven (41%) females but not in males. Significantly higher body mass index was found in the female athletes with hypoferritinemia compared to females with normo-ferritinemia in sub-analysis (median [interquartile range]; 25.6 [24.2, 26.9] versus 22.6 [21.7, 24.1], respectively. p < 0.05). No significant differences in the intake of iron were registered between males and females (with and without hypoferritinemia) using data from a food-frequency questionnaire survey.

Conclusion

No apparent anemia was found in adolescent Kendo practitioners, although this study confirmed the presence of hypoferritinemia in several female athletes. Careful follow-up, involving both clinical and nutritional assessment, will be necessary for them to prevent progression into anemia. A future study with larger cohorts in multiple sites is warranted to assess the prevalence of iron deficiency for validation and, if necessary, to devise a strategy for improving the iron status in Kendo athletes.

Sports haematology

While the crucial role of haemoglobin in aerobic exercise has been well accepted, there is still a great deal of controversy about the optimal haematological parameters in the athletic population. The initial part of this review will examine the question of anaemia in athletes. The most common finding in athletes is a dilutional pseudoanaemia that is caused by a plasma volume expansion, rather than an actual blood loss. It is not a pathological state and normalises with training cessation in 3 to 5 days. This entity should be distinguished from conditions associated with lowered blood counts, such as intravascular haemolysis or iron deficiency anaemia. The evaluation of true anaemia states in the athlete must take into account not only blood losses secondary to exercise, such as foot strike haemolysis or iron losses through sweat, but non-athletic causes as well. Depending on the age and sex of the athlete, consideration must be given to evaluation of the gastrointestinal or genitourinary systems for blood loss. Finally, a comprehensive nutritional history must be taken, as athletes, especially women, are frequently not consuming adequate dietary iron. The second section of the paper will deal with the very contentious issue of sickle cell trait. While there have been studies demonstrating an increased risk of sudden death in people with sickle cell trait, it is still quite rare and should not be used as a restriction to activity. Further, studies have demonstrated that patients with sickle cell trait have an exercise capacity that is probably normal or near normal. However, in the cases of sudden death, it has been secondary to rhabdomyolysis occurring among sickle cell trait athletes performing at intense exertion under hot conditions, soon after arriving at altitude. The recommendations are that athletes with sickle cell trait adhere to compliance with the general guidelines for fluid replacement and acclimatisation to hot conditions and altitude. The final section of the paper examines the issue of haematological manipulation for the purposes of ergogenic improvement. Although experiments with blood doping revealed improvements in running time to exhaustion and maximal oxygen uptake, the introduction of recombinant erythropoietin has rendered blood doping little more than a historical footnote. However, the improvements in performance are not without risk, and the use of exogenous erythropoietin has the potential for increased viscosity of the blood and thrombosis with potentially fatal results. Until a definitive test is developed for detection of exogenous erythropoietin, it will continue to be a part of elite athletics.

Iron status in women aerobic dance instructors

This investigation evaluated the iron and nutritional status of 12 highly trained aerobic dance instructors who did not take iron supplements (ANS) and 8 who did (AS). A control group (C) consisted of 10 age matched controls. The aerobic instructors had exercised for approximately 3.8 days/wk, 56 min/session for the past 7 yrs. There were no significant differences among groups for energy intake, carbohydrate, protein, fat, nonheme iron, heme iron, or total iron intake (excluding supplemental iron). But both exercise groups had lower ferritin values than the control group. There was also a significant difference in mean cell volume (MCV), with both exercise groups having greater values than the control group. There were no differences among groups for serum iron, total iron binding capacity, transferrin saturation, hematocrit, or hemoglobin. One in three aerobic dance instructors had serum ferritin values below 12 micrograms.L-1. Results indicate that women exercise leaders have iron profiles that are similar to other groups of female athletes. The increased MCV values suggest runners' macrocytosis or an exercise induced macrocytosis.

Intravascular haemolysis in the recreational runner

Intravascular haemolysis has been found to result from prolonged endurance competition, rigorous military training and participation in impact sports. Haematological research involving the recreational runner is sparse. Recreational runners frequently vary their training to avoid monotony and improve endurance capacity. This study investigated the haematological effects of a typical day of increased distance training in 15 male recreational runners (62.4(3.1) ml kg-1 min-1 treadmill VO2max; 44.6(8.4) km per week training (means(s.d.)). Venous blood samples were collected before, immediately after, 1 day, 4 days, and 10 days after a 13-km training run (about twice the subjects' typical running distance) and analysed for changes in bilirubin, serum potassium, haematocrit, haemoglobin, red blood cell count, haptoglobin, poikilocytosis and reticulocytosis. Urine samples were collected at the same times as the blood samples and analysed for urobilinogen. Significant (P less than 0.05) 1-day and 4-day decreases in mean haemoglobin, red blood cell count, and haptoglobin values, compared to before training venous blood values and significant (P less than 0.05) post-training increases in bilirubin, serum potassium, urobilinogen and poikilocytosis provided evidence for increased intravascular haemolysis. After 10 days the values for haematocrit, bilirubin, serum potassium, red blood cell count, urobilinogen and poikilocytosis were not significantly (P less than 0.05) different from pre-training values while haemoglobin remained significantly (P less than 0.05) lower, exhibiting a constant but not significant increase over the period from 1 to 10 days. The results indicate that mild intravascular 'footstrike' haemolysis can occur in the recreational runner when typical training distance is increased. This condition appears to be transient and benign.