Hematological Indices in Elite Wrestlers

Because of varying reports, there is still need to investigate the impact of wrestling on hematological indices. We investigated differences in the basic hematological indices in wrestlers compared to sedentary controls. The blood samples containing anticoagulant were collected from 12 male elite wrestlers (age = 24 ± 1.2 years, weight = 76 ± 5 Kg) with a history of more than 9.5 years of experience and from 13 apparently healthy male silent controls (age = 24 ± 0.8 years, weight = 85 ± 4 Kg). All the participants were at rest for 24 hours during the blood collection. Red blood cell (RBC) count, hemoglobin (Hb) concentration, packed cell volume (PCV), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular Hb concentration (MCHC), total and differential white blood cell (WBC) counts, and platelet count were analyzed using an automated hematology analyzer. Concentration of Hb (154 ± 2 g/L), PCV (45.3 ± 0.6%), and lymphocyte percent (22.6 ± 3%) were lower in wrestlers than in the controls (Hb: 165 ± 3 g/L, PCV: 48.6 ± 0.8%, and lymphocyte: 33.2 ± 2%). However, higher neutrophil count (68.7 ± 3%) was seen in the athletes than in the controls (60.6 ± 2%). The other indices showed no differences between the two groups. A low level of Hb concentration and PCV was detected in the blood of wrestlers. In addition, lymphocyte/neutrophil ratio was lower in the wrestlers, which may be a reason for wrestlers’ susceptibility to viral infections.