Correlation of Total Genotype Scores and Aerobic Capacity Among Field Hockey Players

Abstract

A balanced aerobic and anaerobic capacity is an important determinant of performance among field hockey players during the competition. Training and heritable talent play important roles in determining the performance of the athletes. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the influence of sport-related genetic variants on aerobic capacity and repeated sprint ability performance among field hockey players. A total of 45 participants (age = 16.42 ± 0.50 years old, height = 1.67 ± 0.06 m) were selected based on the inclusion criteria of this study. Participants were divided into three groups based on training intensity for eight weeks (high intensity, moderate intensity, and control). Three genetic variants associated with endurance and power (ACE rs1799752, ACTN3 rs1815739, and PPARA rs4253778) were used to calculate the total genotype score (TGS). Pearson’s correlation was used to analyse the correlations between the performance and TGS. There was a significant correlation between the aerobic capacity with endurance TGS (r=0.55, p=0.03) and power TGS (r=-0.55, p=0.03) following the moderate intensity group. It is concluded that the higher the endurance TGS, the better the aerobic capacity in the moderate intensity endurance exercise. Therefore, the short-term performance of the athletes was significantly influenced by the genotypes and training intensity.