Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2019 Sep 25;57(10):1450-1473.
doi: 10.1515/cclm-2018-1107.

Laboratory medicine: health evaluation in elite athletes

Barbara Lombardo  1   2 , Viviana Izzo  3 , Daniela Terracciano  4 , Annaluisa Ranieri  1   2 , Cristina Mazzaccara  1   2 , Fabio Fimiani  5 , Arturo Cesaro  5 , Luca Gentile  2 , Eleonora Leggiero  2 , Raffaela Pero  1   6 , Barbara Izzo  7 , Andrea Carlo D'Alicandro  8 , Danilo Ercolini  6   9 , Giovanni D'Alicandro  10 , Giulia Frisso  1   2 , Lucio Pastore  1   2   6 , Paolo Calabrò  5 , Olga Scudiero  1   2   6
Affiliations
Free article
Review

Laboratory medicine: health evaluation in elite athletes

Barbara Lombardo et al. Clin Chem Lab Med. .
Free article

Abstract

The need to evaluate the health status of an athlete represents a crucial aim in preventive and protective sports science in order to identify the best diagnostic strategy to improve performance and reduce risks related to physical exercise. In the present review we aim to define the main biochemical and haematological markers that vary significantly during and after sports training to identify risk factors, at competitive and professional levels and to highlight the set up of a specific parameter's panel for elite athletes. Moreover, we also intend to consider additional biomarkers, still under investigation, which could further contribute to laboratory sports medicine and provide reliable data that can be used by athlete's competent staff in order to establish personal attitudes and prevent sports injuries.

Keywords: athlete’s health; biomarkers; sports medicine.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Lippi G, Banfi G, Botrè F, De La Torre X, De Vita F, Gomez-Cabrera MC, et al. Laboratory medicine and sports: between Scylla and Charybdis. Clin Chem Lab Med 2012;50:1309–16.
    1. Solomon ML, Weiss Kelly AK. Approach to the underperforming athlete. Pediatr Ann 2016;45:e91–6.
    1. Banfi G, Colombini A, Lombardi G, Lubkowska A. Metabolic markers in sports medicine. Adv Clin Chem 2012;56:1–54.
    1. Yan B, Jiye A, Wang G, Lu H, Huang X, Liu Y, et al. Metabolomic investigation into variation of endogenous metabolites in professional athletes subject to strength-endurance training. J Appl Physiol 2008;106:531–8.
    1. Düking P, Hotho A, Holmberg HC, Fuss FK, Sperlich B. Comparison of non-invasive individual monitoring of the training and health of athletes with commercially available wearable technologies. Front Physiol 2016;7:71.