Changes of Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and Cortisol in response to competition in female volleyball players

Hormone's response to competition and their relation to sport matches have been extensively investigated in male and less widely in female athletes. Stress is an irresistible part of every sport match which is mostly caused by competition. In the present study, female volleyball players were examined for changes in dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and salivary cortisol in response to competition. This cohort study was performed on 10 members of a female volleyball team attending a regional tournament held in 3rd region of Islamic Azad University in year 2010, who were selected by purposive available sampling method. Saliva samples were collected 5 and 30 minutes before the match, between the second and third set, and immediately and 30 minutes after two different volleyball matches. Using ELISA method, the concentrations of DHEA and cortisol were measured in a duplicate manner. Data was analyzed by one-way variance analysis for repeated measurements using SPSS 16 software. No significant difference was detected in concentrations of DHEA and salivary cortisol (p>0.05). Salivary cortisol concentration showed a slight raise in players only in the middle of the volleyball match (p=0.04), but the increase was not statistically significant on the whole (p>0.05). Participating in amateur volleyball matches has no influence on salivary DHEA level. Amateur volleyball players experience the highest cortisol changes, during a volleyball match which leads to a loss. It can probably be concluded that salivary cortisol concentration will increase more drastically in losers compared to winners in amateur players during a volleyball match.