Relationships between Vitamin D and Selected Cytokines and Hemogram Parameters in Professional Football Players-Pilot Study

• Published in: International journal of environmental research and public health 2021-07, Vol.18 (13), p.7124
• Main Authors: Książek, Anna, Zagrodna, Aleksandra, Bohdanowicz-Pawlak, Anna, Lwow, Felicja, Słowińska-Lisowska, Małgorzata
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 25-Hydroxyvitamin D; Adaptive immunity; Adolescent; Adult; Athletes; Blood; Blood platelets; Calciferol; Cardiovascular disease; Careers; Cytokines; Cytokines - blood; Electrochemiluminescence; Health care; Humans; IL-1β; Inflammation; Innate immunity; Interleukin 1; Interleukin 6; Interleukin 8; Lymphocytes; Macrophages; Metabolism; Monocytes; Neutrophils; Oxygen consumption; Pilot Projects; Players; Poland; Professional football; Serum levels; Soccer; Statistical analysis; Tumor necrosis factor-α; Vitamin D; Vitamin D - blood; Vitamin D Deficiency; Vitamin deficiency; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1660-4601; 1661-7827; 1660-4601
• DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18137124

Vitamin D affects both innate and adaptive immunity. Most of the effects of vitamin D on innate immunity are anti-inflammatory. In monocytes/macrophages, vitamin D suppresses the production of the inflammatory cytokines TNF-alpha, IL-1beta, IL-6, and IL-8. Therefore, the aim of our study was to investigate the relationship between 25(OH)D concentration and selected cytokines-IL-6, TNF-α, and IL-1β, which are hemogram parameters for professional football players. We enrolled 41 Polish premier league soccer players. The mean age, career duration, and VO were, respectively: 22.7 ± 5.3 years, 14.7 ± 4.5 years, and 55.8 ± 4.0 mL/kg/min. Serum levels of 25(OH)D were measured by electrochemiluminescence (ECLIA) using the Elecsys system (Roche, Switzerland). Serum levels of IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α were measured by ELISA (R&D Systems, Minneapolis). Blood count with smear was measured on a Sysmex XT-4000i analyzer (Sysmex Corporation, Japan). Our study showed decreased serum 25(OH)D levels in 78% of the professional players. We found a significant negative correlation between 25(OH)D levels and TNF-α and LYMPH (%). The results also demonstrated a statistically significant positive correlation between vitamin D levels and NEUTH (%), NEUTH (tys/µL), and EOS (tys/µL). Based on the results of our study, we concluded that football players from Poland are not protected against vitamin D insufficiency in winter months. Moreover, vitamin D deficiency may be associated with an increased pro-inflammatory risk in well-trained athletes.