Effect of Training Load on Post-Exercise Cardiac Troponin T Elevations in Young Soccer Players

Abstract

Training load (TL) metrics are usually assessed to estimate the individual, physiological and psychological, acute, and adaptive responses to training. Cardiac troponins (cTn) reflect myocardial damage and are routinely analyzed for the clinical diagnosis of myocardial injury. The association between TL and post-exercise cTn elevations is scarcely investigated in young athletes, especially after playing common team sports such as soccer. The objective of this study was to assess the relationship between TL measurements during a small-sided soccer game and the subsequent increase in cTn in young players. Twenty male soccer players (age 11.9 ± 2 years, height 151 ± 13 cm, weight 43 ± 13 kg) were monitored during a 5 × 5 small-sided game and had blood samples drawn before, immediately after, and 3 h after exercise for a posterior analysis of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT). Internal, external, and mixed metrics of TL were obtained from the rating of perceived exertion (RPE), heart rate (HR), and GPS player tracking. The results show that the concentration of hs-cTnT peaked at 3 h post-exercise in all participants. The magnitude of hs-cTnT elevation was mainly explained by the exercise duration in the maximal heart rate zone (Maximum Probability of Effect (MPE) = 92.5%), time in the high-speed zone (MPE = 90.4 %), and distance in the high-speed zone (MPE = 90.45%). Our results support the idea that common metrics of TL in soccer, easily obtained using player tracking systems, are strongly associated with the release of hs-cTnT in children and adolescents.

Cardiac Troponin T Release after Football 7 in Healthy Children and Adults

“…A higher and more variable release of the biomarker during puberty might explain why some differences were found in adolescent-adult comparisons but not in children-adult studies. This hypothesis goes in line with our recent study in which we found that in a cohort of 20 participants of 11.9 ± 2 years, the elevation of cTnT after exercise was positively associated with the maturational stage of participants obtained using a Tanner scale [10]. In this regard, previous authors have already highlighted the need for age-and sex-specific population values for cTnT concentrations in pediatrics [25].…”

“…Exercise load has previously been correlated with ∆cTnT [8,10]. Similarly, players in this study who covered larger distances, ran at a higher speed, or performed at higher HR were those who presented a higher ∆cTnT ( Table 3).…”

“…In this study, no associations between participant characteristics and the cTn response to exercise were found (Table 3). Several preceding studies reported that ∆cTnT might be partially explained by age [5,10,26], anthropometrics [11] and previous training experience [26,27], while others obtained non-conclusive associations [11,[28][29][30]. These discrepancies might be explained by a variety of methodological differences between studies, such as the sample age range, athletic status, exercise mode or the intensity and duration in the interventions.…”

“…However, although football is the most practiced sport in the world [9], only two studies, to the best of our knowledge, provided data about cTn elevations after its practice in young players [10,11]. Hosseini et al investigated the elevations of cTn after a football 11 match in a cohort of 22 adolescents [11], while Cirer-Sastre et al, described the associations between exercise load in a small-sided 5-by-5 game and the subsequent elevations of cTn in a cohort of 20 adolescents [10]. Despite this, football matches in early age categories are normally played in smaller teams and pitches [12], usually under regional adaptations of the international rules of football 7, where football matches are played in teams of seven players [13].…”

“…This release has been described in a variety of sports, and was related to exercise load [8]. However, although football is the most practiced sport in the world [9], only two studies, to the best of our knowledge, provided data about cTn elevations after its practice in young players [10,11]. Hosseini et al investigated the elevations of cTn after a football 11 match in a cohort of 22 adolescents [11], while Cirer-Sastre et al, described the associations between exercise load in a small-sided 5-by-5 game and the subsequent elevations of cTn in a cohort of 20 adolescents [10].…”