Salivary IgA as a Risk Factor for Upper Respiratory Infections in Elite Professional Athletes
Open Access
- 1 July 2008
- journal article
- Published by Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health) in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise
- Vol. 40 (7), 1228-1236
- https://doi.org/10.1249/mss.0b013e31816be9c3
Abstract
The relationship between physiological and psychological stress and immune function is widely recognized; however, there is little evidence to confirm a direct link between depressed immune function and incidence of illness in athletes. Purpose: To examine the relationship between salivary immunoglobulin A (s-IgA) and upper respiratory infections (URI) in a cohort of professional athletes over a prolonged period. Methods: Thirty-eight elite America's Cup yacht racing athletes were studied over 50 wk of training. Resting, unstimulated saliva samples were collected weekly (38 h after exercise, consistent time of day, fasted) together with clinically confirmed URI, training load, and perceived fatigue rating. Results: s-IgA was highly variable within (coefficients of variation [CV] = 48%) and between subjects (CV = 71%). No significant correlation was found between absolute s-IgA concentration and the incidence of URI among athletes (r = 0.11). However, a significant (28%, P < 0.005) reduction in s-IgA occurred during the 3 wk before URI episodes and returned to baseline by 2 wk after a URI. When an athlete did not have, or was not recovering from URI, a s-IgA value lower than 40% of their mean healthy s-IgA concentration indicated a one in two chance of contracting an URI within 3 wk. Conclusion: On a group basis, relative s-IgA determined a substantial proportion of the variability in weekly URI incidence. The typical decline in an individual's relative s-IgA over the 3 wk before a URI appears to precede and contribute to URI risk, with the magnitude of the decrease related to the risk of URI, independent of the absolute s-IgA concentration. These findings have important implications for athletes and coaches in identifying periods of high URI risk.This publication has 34 references indexed in Scilit:
- Immune function in sport and exerciseJournal of Applied Physiology, 2007
- Salivary IgA Responses to Prolonged Intensive Exercise following Caffeine IngestionMedicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 2006
- Variation of Salivary Immunoglobulins in Exercising and Sedentary PopulationsMedicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 2005
- Mucosal IgA and URTI in American College Football Players: A Year Longitudinal StudyMedicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 2005
- Role of secretory antibodies in the defence against infectionsInternational Journal of Medical Microbiology, 2003
- Stress and secretory immunityInternational review of neurobiology, 2002
- Mucosal IgA Response to Repeated Wingate Tests in FemalesInternational Journal of Sports Medicine, 2001
- Undernutrition, infection and immune functionNutrition Research Reviews, 2000
- Psychological Stress, Cytokine Production, and Severity of Upper Respiratory IllnessPsychosomatic Medicine, 1999
- Circadian rhythms in human salivary flow rate and compositionJournal Of Physiology-London, 1972