RESEARCH PAPER
Sweat iron concentration during 4-week exercise training
 
More details
Hide details
1
Department of General and Neurorehabilitation, Witold Chodźko Institute of Rural Health, Lublin, Poland
 
2
Faculty of Health Sciences, Medical University of Lublin, Poland (PhD Student)
 
3
Faculty of Earth Sciences and Spatial Management, Department of Hydrology, Maria Sklodowska-Curie University, Lublin, Poland
 
4
Institute of Rural Health, Lublin, Poland
 
 
Corresponding author
Tomasz Saran   

Department of General and NeuroRehabilitation, Witold Chodźko Institute of Rural Health, Lublin, Poland, Witold Chodźko Institute of Rural Health, Lublin, Poland, Jaczewskiego 2, 20-090 Lublin, Poland
 
 
Ann Agric Environ Med. 2018;25(3):500-503
 
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Introduction:
One possible way of iron loss is sweating. It is unclear how physical activity performed by untrained individuals affects the iron status in sweat.

Objective:
The purpose of this study was to analyse iron concentration in sweat during 4-week exercise training to determine the changes in iron excretion during follow-up exercises.

Material and methods:
43 untrained volunteers participated in the study, 29 of whom completed the full exercise programme. The training programme consisted of exercises on a cycle ergometer and cross-trainer. In the first week, participants exercised for 8 minutes on each device, in the second for 10 minutes, and in the third and fourth weeks they exercised for 15 min on each device. Intensity was submaximal and defined as 85% of maximal heart rate. A sterile sweat patch was placed on the skin between shoulder blades.

Results:
Concentration of iron on the first and the fifteenth day of exercises was comparable and statistically insignificant. Iron concentration was highly increased on the last day of training in comparison with first (p<0.001) and fourteenth day (p<0.006). The median of iron concentration in 29 samples on the first day of sampling was 21.2 ppb, in the fifteenth – 52.5 ppb, and on the twenty-eighth day – 286.2 ppb. In relation with the sodium concentration, the iron content was also increased on the twenty-eighth day of the training programme (p<0.005).

Conclusions:
Iron sweat loss significantly increased during the 4-week exercise programme. A possible explanation may be improvement in the thermoregulation mechanism and secretory activity of sweat glands. Iron sweat loss may be an indicator of iron deficiency observed in active individuals.

REFERENCES (31)
1.
Seiler D, Nagel D, Franz H, Hellstern P, Leitzmann C, Jung K. Effects of long-distance running on iron metabolism and hematological parameters. Int J Sports Med. 1989; 10(5): 357–62.
 
2.
Beard J, Tobin B. Iron status and exercise. Am J ClinNutr. 2000; 72(2): 594–597.
 
3.
Convertino VA. Blood volume: its adaptation to endurance training. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1991 Dec; 23(12): 1338–48.
 
4.
Waldvogel-Abramowski S, Waeber G, Gassner C, Buser A, Frey BM, Favrat B, et al. Physiology of iron metabolism. Transfus Med Hemotherapy. 2014; 41(3): 213–21.
 
5.
Mettler S, Zimmermann MB. Iron excess in recreational marathon runners. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2010; 64(5): 490–4.
 
6.
Ottomano C, Franchini M. Sports anaemia: facts or fiction? Blood Transfus. 2012; 10(3): 252–4.
 
7.
Waller MF, Haymes EM. The effects of heat and exercise on sweat iron loss. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1996; 28(2): 197–203.
 
8.
Chatard JC, Mujika I, Guy C, Lacour JR. Anaemia and iron deficiency in athletes. Practical recommendations for treatment. Sports Med Auckl NZ. 1999; 27(4): 229–40.
 
9.
Brune M, Magnusson B, Persson H, Hallberg L. Iron losses in sweat. Am J Clin Nutr. 1986; 43(3): 438–43.
 
10.
Aruoma OI, Reilly T, MacLaren D, Halliwell B. Iron, copper and zinc concentrations in human sweat and plasma; the effect of exercise. Clin Chim Acta Int J Clin Chem. 1988; 177(1): 81–7.
 
11.
DeRuisseau KC, Cheuvront SN, Haymes EM, Sharp RG. Sweat iron and zinc losses during prolonged exercise. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2002; 12(4): 428–37.
 
12.
Lamanca JJ, Haymes EM, Daly JA, Moffatt RJ, Waller MF. Sweat iron loss of male and female runners during exercise. Int J Sports Med. 1988; 9(1): 52–5.
 
13.
Paulev PE, Jordal R, Pedersen NS. Dermal excretion of iron in intensely training athletes. Clin Chim Acta Int J Clin Chem. 1983; 127(1): 19–27.
 
14.
Tanaka H, Monahan KD, Seals DR. Age-predicted maximal heart rate revisited. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2001; 37(1): 153–6.
 
15.
Baker LB. Sweating rate and sweat sodium concentration in athletes: a review of methodology and intra/interindividual variability. Sports Med Auckl Nz. 2017; 47(Suppl 1): 111–28.
 
16.
Hoshi A, Watanabe H, Chiba M, Inaba Y, Kobayashi M, Kimura N, et al. Seasonal variation of trace element loss to sweat during exercise in males. Environ Health Prev Med. 2002; 7(2): 60–3.
 
17.
Lee J-B, Kim T-W, Min Y-K, Yang H-M. Long Distance Runners Present Upregulated Sweating Responses than Sedentary Counterparts. PLoS ONE. 2014; 9(4).
 
18.
Buono MJ, Sjoholm NT. Effect of physical training on peripheral sweat production. J Appl Physiol. 1988; 65(2): 811–4.
 
19.
Baum E, Brück K, Schwennicke HP. Adaptive modifications in the thermoregulatory system of long-distance runners. J Appl Physiol. 1976; 40(3): 404–10.
 
20.
Magazanik A, Weinstein Y, Dlin RA, Derin M, Schwartzman S, Allalouf D. Iron deficiency caused by 7 weeks of intensive physical exercise. Eur J Appl Physiol. 1988; 57(2): 198–202.
 
21.
Alam T, Rahman SMN, Alam T, Habib N, Umar BU, Banna QR, et al. Effect of physical exercise on some hematological parameters in female athletes in Bangladesh. JNMA J Nepal Med Assoc. 2014 Sep; 52(195): 892–6.
 
22.
Bourque SP, Pate RR, Branch JD. Twelve weeks of endurance exercise training does not affect iron status measures in women. J Am Diet Assoc. 1997; 97(10): 1116–21.
 
23.
Kong W-N, Gao G, Chang Y-Z. Hepcidin and sports anemia. Cell Biosci. 2014; 14(4): 4–19.
 
24.
Peeling P, Sim M, Badenhorst CE, Dawson B, Govus AD, Abbiss CR, et al. Iron status and the acute post-exercise hepcidin response in athletes. PLoS ONE. 2014; 9(3): e93002.
 
25.
Ishibashi A, Maeda N, Sumi D, Goto K. Elevated serum hepcidin levels during an intensified training period in well-trained female long-distance runners. Nutrients. 2017; 9(3): 277.
 
26.
Kortas J, Kuchta A, Prusik K, Prusik K, Ziemann E, Labudda S, et al. Nordic walking training attenuation of oxidative stress in association with a drop in body iron stores in elderly women. Biogerontology. 2017; 18(4): 517–24.
 
27.
Kortas J, Prusik K, Flis D, Prusik K, Ziemann E, Leaver N, et al. Effect of Nordic Walking training on iron metabolism in elderly women. Clin Interv Aging. 2015; (27)10: 1889–96.
 
28.
Dzedzej A, Ignatiuk W, Jaworska J, Grzywacz T, Lipińska P, Antosiewicz J, et al. The effect of the competitive season in professional basketball on inflammation and iron metabolism. Biol Sport. 2016; 33(3): 223–9.
 
29.
Skarpańska-Stejnborn A, Basta P, Trzeciak J, Szcześniak-Pilaczyńska Ł. Effect of intense physical exercise on hepcidin levels and selected parameters of iron metabolism in rowing athletes. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2015; 115: 345–51.
 
30.
Wouthuyzen-Bakker M, van Assen S. Exercise-induced anaemia: a forgotten cause of iron deficiency anaemia in young adults. Br J Gen Pract. 2015; 65(634): 268–9.
 
31.
Peeling P, Dawson B, Goodman C, Landers G, Trinder D. Athletic induced iron deficiency: new insights into the role of inflammation, cytokines and hormones. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2008; 103(4): 381.
 
eISSN:1898-2263
ISSN:1232-1966
Journals System - logo
Scroll to top