Changes in different salivary biomarkers related to physiologic stress in elite handball players: the case of females

Abstract

This study evaluates pre- and post-match concentrations of salivary cortisol, alpha-amylase (AA) and immunoglobulin A (lgA) in a group of 21 elite female handball players in the Spanish national women’s league. The players’ mean age was 23.0 ± 5.4 years. The concentration of the biomarkers was determined using ELISA. Mean playing time was 25.2 min. The players’ cortisol concentration increased significantly (p < 0.05) whereas the IgA concentration fell significantly (p < 0.01) at the end of the match. There were no significant changes in the concentrations of AA between pre and post-match timepoints. The changes observed in the study also depended on the position played; defenders exhibited the highest cortisol and lowest IgA concentrations after the match. Larger changes in cortisol and IgA were seen in those who played for more than 30 min. The present study shows that a competitive handball match increases physiologic stress in females, with activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and the adrenergic system, resulting in decreased immunocompetence.

Part I: Relationship among Training Load Management, Salivary Immunoglobulin A, and Upper Respiratory Tract Infection in Team Sport: A Systematic Review

“…Among the selected studies, 17 studies achieved a score higher than 7, meaning a low risk of bias [ 11 , 13 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 36 , 37 , 38 ], while seven studies were considered as having a higher risk of bias [ 10 , 20 , 28 , 30 , 31 , 34 ].…”

“…This systematic review included six rugby [ 10 , 11 , 20 , 28 , 34 , 39 ], two handball [ 21 , 24 ], nine basketball [ 13 , 22 , 26 , 27 , 31 , 33 , 36 , 37 ], three futsal [ 23 , 25 , 32 ], two hockey [ 29 , 38 ], and two Australian football [ 30 , 35 ] studies.…”

“…Table 3 is organized according to the main stressor of matches. Specifically, when the stressor was matches, they were split according to official matches [ 11 , 21 , 30 , 32 , 35 ], training matches [ 20 , 24 , 30 , 32 ], both official and training matches [ 36 ].…”

“…The aim of this systematic review was to investigate the studies that have found (i) a relationship between training load and salivary IgA (sIgA) in team sports, and (ii) a relationship between sIgA and URTI. Among the studies found, the main stressors used in studies were official matches [ 11 , 13 , 21 , 34 , 35 ], training matches [ 20 , 24 , 30 , 32 ], simultaneous official and training matches [ 36 ], periods of general training [ 10 , 27 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 ], periods of training that included strength training [ 21 , 22 , 24 , 32 ], and simultaneous training periods and matches [ 25 , 27 , 28 , 30 ]. Although not all studies reported narrow relationship between IgA and training load and between IgA and URTI, a trend was found between training/competition volume/intensity and IgA.…”

“…Regarding the studies that analyzed IgA through official matches [ 11 , 13 , 20 , 21 , 34 , 35 , 41 ], Lindsay et al [ 11 ] found that three professional rugby matches decreased sIgA concentrations, although not all of them were significant. The same study found that there were decreases over time when analyzing subject by subject, which led to the speculation that some players could possibly be better prepared for matches and, thus, less exposed to immune system fragility.…”