Effects of training for two ball games on the saliva response of adrenocortical hormones to exercise in elite sportswomen

Abstract

In a group of 20 elite female handball or volleyball players, an evaluation was made of the response to a 4-month training period of cortisol, androstenedione and dehydroepiandrosterone in the saliva. At the beginning of the training programme (W1) and at the 7th (W7) and 16th weeks (W16), hormone concentrations were measured on awakening (8 a.m.; resting samples), and also before (t0) and at the end (t120) of a 2-h exercise session (simulated match) which took place at 6 p.m. The training programme increased the concentrations of adrenal androgens in the saliva at rest (P < 0.05) for both groups of subjects, with no change being noted in cortisol concentrations. In contrast, amongst the volleyball players, stressful stimuli produced by an increase in the amount of training did not affect adrenocortical metabolism during exercise. Indeed, a simulated volleyball match resulted in a decrease in salivary cortisol (P < 0.05) and androgen concentrations (P < 0.05) without regard for the week chosen for the test investigations. In contrast, a simulated handball match caused an increase in cortisol concentrations at W1 only (P < 0.05), with no change in the adrenal androgens concentration in any week of the training programme. The regulators of these hormones during a period of exercise and during the course of a training programme would seem to be different.

Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) Rather Than Testosterone Shows Saliva Androgen Responses to Exercise in Elite Female Handball Players

“…Plasma DHEA has been reported to increase with exercise, depending on the level of performance and intensity of the exercise [6,30]. In a previous study [11], we noted that the adrenal androgen responses to a period of exercise seem to depend on the type of the exercise, an anaerobic exercise inducing a decrease in saliva adrenal concentrations, whereas a predominantly aerobic sport such as handball [27] induced no change.…”

Effects of amount of training on the saliva concentrations of cortisol, dehydroepiandrosterone and on the dehydroepiandrosterone: cortisol concentration ratio in women over 16 weeks of training

“…Such a dissociation has previously been postulated (Parker et al 1985;Filaire et al 1998). The adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) is the main modulator of [C] secretion and it has been found that in the absence of ACTH extremely little [C] is produced (Parker et al 1985).…”

Body Composition and Physical Fitness of Female Volleyball and Basketball Players of the Japan Inter-high School Championship Teams

“…The body composition and V O 2 max of female volleyball players have been reported by Kovaleski et al (1980), Puhl et al (1982), and Filaire et al (1998), and those of female basketball players by Sining (1973), Vaccaro et al (1979), and Sugahara et al (1983). However, the subjects of these reports were general college students or non-student athletes, and there has been no report on comprehensive physical abilities including the O 2 debt max.…”