Effects of six weeks of competitive exercise training exposure on modulating the response of salivary alpha-amylase and cortisol in adolescents

It is not yet clear whether exposure to competitive exercise training (CET) can lead to adaptation and reduction of salivary markers of stress in adolescents or not? This study aimed to investigate the effects of six weeks of exposure to CET in modulating the response of salivary alpha-amylase and cortisol to a single bout of acute competitive activity in adolescents. 24 healthy adolescents (12 girls and 12 boys) participated in this research in two groups of competitive (n=12) and noncompetitive(n=12) exercises with random allocation of 50% to each gender. Exercises were performed in both groups for six weeks and two sessions per week. The subjects performed the acute competitive activity with an interval of 48 hours before and after the training period. Salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase responses were evaluated before and 5 minutes after the acute competitive activity in two stages, pre-test and post-test. Data analysis was done with the Repeated measures ANOVA and independent t-tests at the statistical level of P≤0.05.The results indicated a significant increase in salivary alpha-amylase after the acute competitive activity in the pre-test and post-test in both groups (p<0.05), but cortisol did not change significantly in any of the groups. There was no significant difference between the groups in cortisol and alpha-amylase responses (P<0.05). In summary the results showed that adolescents respond to the stress caused by acute competitive activity in the form of an increase in salivary alpha-amylase, and repeated participation in six weeks CET does not have an effect on modulating the response of salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase.