Hematological and Biochemical Markers of Iron Status in a Male, Young, Physically Active Population

Abstract EN

The aim of this study was to establish reference intervals (RIs) for the hemogram and iron status biomarkers in a physically active population.

The study population included male volunteers (n=150) with an average age of 19 ± 1 years who had participated in a regular and controlled exercise program for four months.

Blood samples were collected to determine hematological parameters using a Sysmex XE-5000 analyzer (Sysmex, Kobe, Japan).

Iron, total iron-binding capacity (TIBC), transferrin saturation and ferritin, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP) concentrations in serum samples were measured using commercial kits (Roche Diagnostics, GmbH, Mannheim, Germany) and a Roche/Hitachi 902 analyzer.

The RIs were established using the RefVal program 4.1b.

The leucocyte count, TIBC, and CRP and ferritin concentrations exhibited higher RIs compared with those in a nonphysically active population.

Thirty volunteers (outliers) were removed from the reference population due to blood abnormalities.

Among the outliers, 46% exhibited higher CRP concentrations and lower concentrations of iron and reticulocyte hemoglobin compared with the nonphysically active population (P<0.001).

Our results showed that it is important to establish RIs for certain laboratory parameters in a physically active population, especially for tests related to the inflammatory response and iron metabolism.