Department of Cardiology and Angiology, Justus- Liebig- University Giessen, 35390, Giessen, Germany.
Adiphea GmbH, Werbach, Germany.
Sci Rep. 2022 May 23;12(1):8655. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-12734-z.
SARS-CoV-2 may affect the cardiovascular system and vascular impairment has been reported in healthy young adults recovering from COVID-19. However, the impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection on the vascular function of elite athletes is unknown. We examined 30 healthy male elite athletes (age 25.8 ± 4.6 years) pre-season and at a 6-month follow-up (182 ± 10 days). Vascular function and central blood pressure were calculated using transfer function-based analysis of peripheral arterial waveforms obtained by oscillometry. We performed a two-way repeated-measures ANOVA on the biomarker data, with SARS-CoV-2 status as the between-groups factor and time as the within-groups factor. Subjects who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 were studied 18 ± 4 days after their positive testing date at follow-up. Of 30 athletes, 15 tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 after the first examination and prior to the follow-up. None had severe COVID-19 or reported any persisting symptoms. The results of the two-way repeated measures ANOVA revealed that there was no significant main effect of COVID-19 on any of the investigated biomarkers. However, there was a significant interaction between the effects of SARS-CoV-2 exposure and time on augmentation index (Aix) (p = 0.006) and augmentation index normalized to a heart rate of 75 beats per minute (Aix@75), (p = 0.0018). The observation of an interaction effect on Aix and Aix@75 in the absence of any main effect indicates a cross-over interaction. Significant vascular alterations in male elite athletes recovering from COVID-19 were observed that suggest vascular impairment. Whether these alterations affect athletic performance should be evaluated in future studies.
SARS-CoV-2 可能会影响心血管系统，有报道称 COVID-19 康复的健康年轻成年人存在血管损伤。然而，SARS-CoV-2 感染对精英运动员的血管功能的影响尚不清楚。我们在赛季前和 6 个月随访（182±10 天）时检查了 30 名健康的男性精英运动员（年龄 25.8±4.6 岁）。使用基于传递函数的分析方法，通过容积描记法获得的外周动脉脉搏波来计算血管功能和中心血压。我们对生物标志物数据进行了双向重复测量方差分析，将 SARS-CoV-2 状态作为组间因素，时间作为组内因素。在随访时，对 SARS-CoV-2 检测呈阳性的受试者在检测呈阳性后 18±4 天进行研究。在 30 名运动员中，有 15 名在第一次检查后和随访前 SARS-CoV-2 检测呈阳性。他们均无严重 COVID-19 或报告任何持续症状。双向重复测量方差分析的结果表明，COVID-19 对任何研究的生物标志物均无显著的主要影响。然而，SARS-CoV-2 暴露和时间对增强指数（Aix）的影响之间存在显著的相互作用（p=0.006），Aix 归一化为心率 75 次/分钟（Aix@75）（p=0.0018）。在没有主要影响的情况下观察到 Aix 和 Aix@75 的相互作用效应表明存在交叉相互作用。在 COVID-19 康复的男性精英运动员中观察到显著的血管变化，表明存在血管损伤。这些变化是否会影响运动表现，应在未来的研究中进行评估。
