Woronyczová Jana, Nováková Miroslava, Leníček Martin, Bátovský Miloš, Bolek Emil, Cífková Renata, Vítek Libor
Institute of Medical Biochemistry and Laboratory Diagnostics, General University Hospital in Prague and 1st Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Na Bojišti 3, Praha 2, 12000, Prague, Czech Republic.
Sports Research Institute of the Czech Armed Forces, Prague, Czech Republic.
Sports Med Open. 2022 Jun 27;8(1):84. doi: 10.1186/s40798-022-00463-6.
Bilirubin is a potent endogenous antioxidant and immunomodulating substance, which is also implicated in both cell signalling and various metabolic pathways. Mild elevation of systemic bilirubin concentrations provides substantial protection against many diseases of civilization. Rare published reports have suggested that serum bilirubin might also be relevant to sports performance. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate serum bilirubin concentrations and the prevalence of Gilbert syndrome (GS) in elite athletes.
The study was carried out in 536 consecutive healthy elite athletes and in 2594 individuals of the Czech post-MONICA study representing the general Czech population. Serum bilirubin concentrations, the prevalence of benign hyperbilirubinemia > 17 µmol/L (1 mg/dL, a phenotypic sign of GS), and a variant of the UGT1A1 gene promoter responsible for GS manifestation in Caucasians (rs81753472) were evaluated in study subjects.
Compared to the general Czech population, significantly higher serum bilirubin concentrations were found in elite athletes (9.6 vs. 11.6 µmol/L, p < 0.001), both in men (11.3 vs. 12.6 µmol/L, p < 0.001) and women (8.3 vs. 10.5 µmol/L, p < 0.001). Furthermore, the prevalence of GS was also significantly higher in elite athletes (9.6 vs. 22%, p < 0.001) together with the tendency to higher frequencies of the genotypes (TA) and (TA) UGT1A1.
Elite athletes have significantly higher concentrations of serum bilirubin, the most potent endogenous antioxidant substance known. Simultaneously, the prevalence of GS syndrome is also much higher in elite athletes, suggesting that a mild elevation of serum bilirubin might predispose to better sports performance.
胆红素是一种强大的内源性抗氧化剂和免疫调节物质，还参与细胞信号传导和各种代谢途径。全身胆红素浓度的轻度升高可为多种文明病提供实质性保护。少数已发表的报告表明，血清胆红素可能也与运动表现有关。本研究的目的是评估精英运动员的血清胆红素浓度及吉尔伯特综合征（GS）的患病率。
本研究纳入了536名连续的健康精英运动员以及捷克莫尼卡研究中代表捷克普通人群的2594名个体。对研究对象评估了血清胆红素浓度、良性高胆红素血症（>17 μmol/L，即1 mg/dL，GS的一种表型特征）的患病率以及负责高加索人GS表现的UGT1A1基因启动子变体（rs81753472）。
与捷克普通人群相比，精英运动员的血清胆红素浓度显著更高（9.6 vs. 11.6 μmol/L，p<0.001），男性（11.3 vs. 12.6 μmol/L，p<0.001）和女性（8.3 vs. 10.5 μmol/L，p<0.001）均如此。此外，精英运动员中GS的患病率也显著更高（9.6% vs. 22%，p<0.001），同时基因型（TA）和（TA）UGT1A1的频率有升高趋势。
精英运动员血清胆红素（已知最强的内源性抗氧化物质）浓度显著更高。同时，精英运动员中GS综合征的患病率也高得多，这表明血清胆红素的轻度升高可能有助于提高运动表现。
