Assessment of differences in lung capacities and hemoglobin levels between professional athletes and healthy non-athlete individuals

Objective: Intense and regular exercise induces physiological adaptations that improve lung function. This study aims to compare the lung capacities of professional athletes and non-athlete healthy individuals. Material and Methods: Age, height, weight, PFT and hemoglobin values of 59 adult athletes from four different branches (25 soccer, 19 basketball, 12 handball, three volleyball players) and 51 healthy non-athletes who applied for a yearly checkup clinic at a university hospital were obtained and compared. Results: There was no significant difference in terms of age and weight of athletes and the control group. The athletes' forced expiratory volume 1 (FEV1) and forced vital capacity (FVC) values were significantly greater than the controls' (Respectively 4.86±0.66 L vs 4.58±0.66 L; p=0.02 and 5.87±0.98 L vs 5.40±0.82 L; p=0.008). There was no significant difference between the FEV1/FVC ratio of athletes and the control group (83.6%±7.7 vs 85.2%±5.8; p>0.05). Hemoglobin levels of the athletes were significantly lower than the control group (14.9±0.9 g/dl vs 15.2±0.8 g/dl; p=0.02). Conclusion: Compared to non-athletes, professional athletes have considerably higher FEV1 and FVC values, likely resulting from intensive training. Athletes' lower hemoglobin values may be attributed to the physiological changes related to regular exercise. These findings further emphasize the necessity of interpreting athletes' PFTs within the athlete population by using personalized reference values, to prevent potential misdiagnoses.