Comprehensive overview of hemoglobin mass and blood volume in elite athletes across a wide range of different sporting disciplines.

Background: The aim of the study was to compare total hemoglobin mass (tHb-mass) and blood volume (BV) across elite athletes with different sporting specializations.

Methods: The study enrolled 222 members of Russian national teams from 12 different sporting disciplines and non-Olympic sports. The athletes were tested in the middle of a competitive season for tHb-mass, BV, plasma volume (PV), hemoglobin concentration (Hb), and hematocrit level (Hct) determination. tHb-mass measurements were performed using CO- rebreathing technique, alongside Hb and Hct (capillary blood).

Results: In elite endurance athletes both male and female values for tHb-mass, BV and PV, were significantly higher compared to anaerobic, technical sports and untrained subjects. The highest values of relative tHb-mass across all 15 groups were found in cross-country skiers (15.1±0.1 g/kg) and cyclists (15.0±0.5 g/kg). In the anaerobic group the highest value of tHb-mass was within the short-track group - i.e. 12.9±0.5 g/kg which was significantly lower than in cycling. In all aerobic groups, anaerobic and breath-hold divers we found significant difference in relative tHb-mass compared to untrained subjects. The difference between relative tHb-mass in the cycling group and untrained subjects was 31.3%, 17% for short track, 30.1% for handball and 33.5% for motor sport. For the largest group (biathlon) we performed correlation analysis for males and females with competitive performance and found relationship in both groups (P<0.05).

Conclusions: The study clearly demonstrates the difference between endurance and non-endurance athletes in tHb-mass for elite males and females athletes and its importance in competitive aerobic performance.