title: Assessment of resting electrocardiogram, P wave dispersion and duration in different genders applying for registration to the School of Physical Education and Sports - results of a single centre Turkish Trial with 2093 healthy subjects.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The 12-lead electrocardiogram shows a broad range of abnormal patterns in trained athletes. The primary end point of this study was to investigate P wave dispersion, and P wave durations and related factors in different genders applying for registration to the School of Physical Education and Sports.
  
  
  RESULTS
  From 2006 to 2009, a total of 2093 students - 1674 boys with a mean age of 19.8 plus or minus 1.9 years and 419 girls with a mean age of 19.1 plus or minus 1.8 years - were included in the study. All 12 leads of the resting electrocardiogram were evaluated for P wave dispersion and electrocardiogram abnormalities. Baseline parameters such as age, body weight, body height, and body mass index, as well as electrocardiogram findings such as P wave maximal duration and P wave dispersion, were significantly higher in boys than in girls. Of all the parameters tested with correlation analysis, only gender (p = 0.03) (r = 0.04), body weight (p < 0.001) (r = 0.07), body height (p = 0.004) (r = 0.06), and body mass index (p = 0.01) (p = 0.05) were correlated with P wave dispersion.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The frequencies of all electrocardiogram abnormalities, P wave dispersion, and P wave maximal duration were higher in boys as compared with girls in an unselected student population applying for registration to the School of Physical Education and Sports; in addition, P wave dispersion was correlated with gender, body weight, body height, and body mass index.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Kartal Koşuyolu Yüksek Ihtisas Educational and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey. mustafayilldiz@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Mustafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yildiz
authors.forename: Dilek
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Aygin
authors.forename: Pinar
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pazarli
authors.forename: Ayse
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sayan
authors.forename: Olcay
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Semiz
authors.forename: Osman
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Kahyaoglu
authors.forename: Banu S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Yildiz
authors.forename: Hakan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hasdemir
authors.forename: Ibrahim
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Akin
authors.forename: Nurgul
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Keser
authors.forename: Sevin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Altinkaynak
mesh_terms: D004562:Electrocardiography / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010806:Physical Education and Training; D012016:Reference Values; D012146:Rest / Q000502:physiology*; D012574:Schools; D012737:Sex Factors; D013177:Sports; D013334:Students; D013997:Time Factors; D014421:Turkey; D055815:Young Adult