title: Salivary IgA is not a reliable indicator of upper respiratory infection in collegiate female soccer athletes.
abstract: It has been shown that mucosal immunity measures such as salivary immunoglobulin A (s-IgA) can be affected by sport activities and has resulted in an increased susceptibility to infection. However, there is limited research that has evaluated the change in s-IgA throughout a full sport training season. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the change in s-IgA levels and incidence of upper respiratory infection in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I level female soccer athletes compared to age matched controls over an entire sport training season. Saliva samples were collected from 12 randomly selected female collegiate soccer athletes and 8 age-matched controls. Samples were collected bimonthly from the athletes' pre-and post-sport training sessions and pre- and post-90-minute sedentary period for the controls. Analysis showed there was a significant (p < 0.05) group × time interaction in total protein (TP) for collections 1 and 4 and a significant (p < 0.05) group × time interaction in s-IgA/TP for collections 2 and 3. There was no significant difference (p > 0.05) between athletes and controls for s-IgA or total symptom days (TSDs). Furthermore, there was no significant correlation between absolute s-IgA and TSDs or s-IgA/TP and TSDs throughout the sport training season. The large range of measurable levels for s-IgA at the different time points for athletes and controls and the lack of relationship between s-IgA levels and TSDs indicate that s-IgA is not an appropriate measure to determine an athlete's susceptibility to during a training season.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health, Sport and Exercise Sciences, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, USA. pvardim@ku.edu
authors.forename: John P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Vardiman
authors.forename: Charles E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Riggs
authors.forename: Doug L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Galloway
authors.forename: Mickey B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Waxman
authors.forename: Chad D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Touchberry
authors.forename: Phillip M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Gallagher
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004198:Disease Susceptibility / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018928:Immunity, Mucosal; D007070:Immunoglobulin A / Q000378:metabolism*; D015994:Incidence; D010806:Physical Education and Training; D011506:Proteins / Q000032:analysis; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology*; D012463:Saliva / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology*; D012916:Soccer / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D007070:Immunoglobulin A; D011506:Proteins