Hepcidin and iron: novel findings for elite female rugby Sevens players.

BACKGROUND

Iron deficiency is a common deficiency disease worldwide with athletes at increased risk.

METHODS

A proposed new mechanism of exercise-induced iron deficiency in athletes involves the iron-regulatory hormone hepcidin, however, there is limited information on this amongst elite athletes. This study describes iron status in elite female rugby Sevens players.

RESULTS

Blood samples were collected at the start and mid-season and analyzed for serum iron, serum ferritin (SF), soluble transferring receptor (sTfR), high sensitivity C-reactive Protein (hsCRP) and hepcidin. Of the 17 players 18% were iron deficient (SF<30 µg/L) with 29-35% of players with sub-optimal iron stores at some point during the study (SF<45 µg/L). Serum hepcidin was strongly correlated with SF (r=0.61, P=0.0001).

CONCLUSIONS

Some elite female rugby Sevens players have sub-optimal iron stores over the course of a season.