Oxidative stress in athletes after occasional smoking

Abstract

Normally, in the tissues of living organisms, freeradical processes run continuously, and their intensity is insignificant. With increased physical activity, bad habits intensify freeradical processes. We studied the intensity of freeradical processes in the blood of sportsmen (track and field athletes) who smoked tobacco once a week. The results were compared with the values of men who do not practice sports and smoke daily, with track and field athletes who do not use tobacco at all, and with a control group in which men do not smoke and do not practice sports. The intensity of free radical processes was determined in venous blood samples using the induced chemiluminescence method; the activities of malonicdialdehyde, superoxide dismutase, and catalase were also determined. The activity of malonicdialdehyde in the serum of the track and field athletes who smoked a cigarette once a week was elevated compared with that of the control group. In the group of track and field athletes who did not smoke, the level of malonicdialdehyde was also slightly higher than in the control group, which is associated with active exercise and accelerated metabolism. There were also differences between superoxide dismutase activity levels. In the group of athletes who smoked once a week, the level was reduced. In the group of athletes who do not smoke at all, the level of superoxide dismutase was, in contrast, higher. The activity of catalase was decreased in the group of athletes who smoked once a week compared to that of the control group. A similar result was found for the group of smokers. In athletes who do not smoke at all, the level of catalase was higher than that in the control group. Correspondingly, the index of maximum intensity of induced biochemiluminescence was increased in the group of athletes who smoked and in the group of smokers who did not participate in sports. In athletes who did not smoke, the level was elevated insignificantly. Thus, the oxidative stress activity in athletes who smoke once a week was higher than in the regular smokers. Thus, sporadic tobacco use also leads to the development of oxidative stress in athletes.