Abstract

ORREGO, Martha Lucía. Hematocrite and hemoglobine values in sportsmen assessed at the Sports Institute of Medellin, Colombia. Acta Med Colomb [online]. 2007, vol.32, n.4, pp.196-205. ISSN 0120-2448.

Objective: determining the hematocrite (hct) and hemoglobin (hgb) values that could approach the reference values of sportsman assessed at the "Laboratorio Clínico del Instituto Departamental de Deportes de Antioquia, (INDEPORTES)", to obtain comparison parameters for a more precise interpretation of these measurements. Design: cross Sectional prospective Study. Participants: the simple measurements of 432 apparently healthy sportsmen (234 men and 198 women), ages between 15 and 49 years that met all the inclusion criteria, in whom 656 hct and hgb were measured during 2003, 2004 and 2005. Methodology: hct and hgb analysis were performed taking into account gender, age groups in each gender (15-17 years, 18-24 years and from 25 years up), and taking also into account the sports group in each gender (1-Group of competitive Art de Art, 2-Group, Combat, 3-Group, Strength, 4-Group ball games and 5 Group, Endurance). The reference intervals were at 95% for hct and hgb in each one of the 5 sports groups in both genders, using the Bootstrap methodology. Results: the differences in the hct and hgb values in both genders found have already been reported in other studies. No significant statistical differences in hct. were found among the 5 sports groups in both genders, or for hgb. in males, there were only significant borderline differences in hmgb (p=0.054) in the Combat vs. the endurance group in females. There were no statistically significant differences in the three age groups for hct or for hgb in both genders. Conclusions: the reference intervals for hct and hgb in the 5 sports groups studied in each gender will help optimizing the methodology used for the interpretations of these measurements in the control and follow up of this sportsmen population. The reference intervals obtained for hct and hgb in male sportsman, indicate that those that do not use any doping substance may exceed the critical limits established for these blood tests by some International and National Sports Federations, to prevent the use of human exogenous recombinant erythropoietin and other forms of doping and preserve the physical integrity of those who participate in the competitions; it is for that reason that these sportsmen may be excluded from the competitions without any justification. Likewise, the results show that it is possible to find hct higher than 50% in male sportsmen that live at altitudes of less than 2.000 meters as well as those that live at higher altitudes. Taking into account that this is the first study about hematological parameters carried out in Colombia, it is expected to be the starting point at national level.

Keywords : hematocrite; hemoglobin; sportsmen; sports groups.

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