Acute effects of high-intensity exercise on hematological and iron metabolic parameters in elite male and female dragon boating athletes

Hepcidin levels increased significantly from 9.1 ± 6.5 to 12.2 ± 5.8 ng/mL in men and from 8.0 ± 4.6 to 11.7 ± 5.7 ng/mL in women after high-intensity training.

• Leukocyte, CPK, and CKMB levels also increased significantly after exercise in both male and female athletes.
• Iron concentrations decreased significantly post-exercise, with men showing a drop from 99.3 ± 46.3 to 61.2 ± 20.9 µg/dL and women from 116.3 ± 34 to 67.1 ± 21.8 µg/dL.
• No significant gender differences were observed in the changes of hepcidin or iron levels.
• The increase in hepcidin levels may be associated with a heightened risk of anemia in elite dragon boating athletes.

AI simplified