The Effect of Endurance Swimming Activity on the Serum Concentration of Surfactant D and Clara Cell Proteins in Elite Swimmers: A Clinical Trial

Increasing surfactant D and Clara cell proteins (from epithelial cells of lung) in the blood is a sign of respiratory system damage. Endurance swimming is an anaerobic activity that involves activating macrophages and neutrophils. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of one session of endurance swimming activity on the serum concentration of surfactant D and Clara cell proteins in elite swimmers. The present study was a Clinical trial performed in 1395 with a two stage pre-test and post-test design. The statistical sample was randomly selected from Tabriz Team swimmers (n=20), 10 elite and 10 recreational swimmers. Clara cell and surfactant D proteins were measured after a session of endurance activity with an intensity of 70-75% of maximum oxygen consumption for 30 minutes. Data were analyzed using t-test and one-way ANOVA and Tukey's post hoc test (p≤ 0.05). Clara cell serum concentration increased significantly in both groups of elite and recreational swimmers after training intervention (p= 0.001). Also, surfactant D increased significantly after training intervention only in the recreational swimmers group. Post-test results indicated that the mean value of Clara cell protein in the elite swimmers was higher than the recreational swimmers (p= 0.001) and surfactant D in the recreational swimmers was significantly more than the elite swimmers (p= 0.002). A swimming endurance session seems to increase the serum levels of Clara cellc and surfactant D in swimmers and their increase indicates respiratory system inflammation.