The Effect of a Futsal Match on Mucosal Immunity in Female Futsal Players

 Purpose

Competitive sports are a stress factor to change the immune system. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a futsal match on the responses of mucosal immunity in female futsal players.

Nine futsal players from one teams of the premier league female futsal in Iran with a mean age of 25± 2 years, BMI 21.03 ± 1.30 kg.m-2, VO2max 47.32 ± 1.62 ml.kg-1.min-1 participated in this study. Unstimulated saliva samples were collected before, after, 24 h and 48 h post- matchfor salivary IgA concentration (s-IgA), IgA secretion rate (SIgA), S-IgA/Protein ratio, cortisone and alpha amylase measurement. In order to analyze the data, analysis of variance (ANOVA) with repeated measures with Bonferroni as appropriate at (P<0.05) was used.

Subsequent the match, saliva flow rate, s-IgA, SIgA and s-IgA / Pro ratio decreased (P<0.05) and come back to rest level after 24 hours recovery. Cortisol, alpha amylase and total protein increased significantly post match (P<0.05).

An official futsal match may have adverse effects on female mucosal immunity due to SIgA diminish and therefore susceptible to upper respiratory tract infection (URTI), although further investigations are needed.