Health effects from swimming training in chlorinated pools and the corresponding metabolic stress pathways.
Chlorination is the most popular method for disinfecting swimming pool water; however, although pathogens are being killed, many toxic compounds, called disinfection by-products (DBPs), are formed. Numerous epidemiological publications have associated the chlorination of pools with dysfunctions of the respiratory system and with some other diseases. However, the findings concerning these associations are not always consistent and have not been confirmed by toxicological studies. Therefore, the health effects from swimming in chlorinated pools and the corresponding stress reactions in organisms are unclear. In this study, we show that although the growth and behaviors of experimental rats were not affected, their health, training effects and metabolic profiles were significantly affected by a 12-week swimming training program in chlorinated water identical to that of public pools. Interestingly, the eyes and skin are the organs that are more directly affected than the lungs by the irritants in chlorinated water; instead of chlorination, training intensity, training frequency and choking on water may be the primary factors for lung damage induced by swimming. Among the five major organs (the heart, liver, spleen, lungs and kidneys), the liver is the most likely target of DBPs. Through metabolomics analysis, the corresponding metabolic stress pathways and a defensive system focusing on taurine were presented, based on which the corresponding countermeasures can be developed for swimming athletes and for others who spend a lot of time in chlorinated swimming pools.
Key Laboratory of Training Monitoring and Intervention on the Sports in Water, State Sports General Administration, Institute of Physical Education, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, China; Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, China.
Jiang-Hua
JH
Li
Beijing Economic Management School, Beijing, China.
Zhi-Hui
ZH
Wang
Key Laboratory of Training Monitoring and Intervention on the Sports in Water, State Sports General Administration, Institute of Physical Education, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, China.
Xiao-Juan
XJ
Zhu
Key Laboratory of Training Monitoring and Intervention on the Sports in Water, State Sports General Administration, Institute of Physical Education, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, China.
Zhao-Hui
ZH
Deng
Key Laboratory of Training Monitoring and Intervention on the Sports in Water, State Sports General Administration, Institute of Physical Education, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, China.
Can-Xin
CX
Cai
Key Laboratory of Training Monitoring and Intervention on the Sports in Water, State Sports General Administration, Institute of Physical Education, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, China.
Li-Qiang
LQ
Qiu
Key Laboratory of Training Monitoring and Intervention on the Sports in Water, State Sports General Administration, Institute of Physical Education, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, China.
Wei
W
Chen
Key Laboratory of Training Monitoring and Intervention on the Sports in Water, State Sports General Administration, Institute of Physical Education, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, China.
Ya-Jun
YJ
Lin
D000818:Animals; D054879:Halogenation; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013312:Stress, Physiological; D013550:Swimming; D013551:Swimming Pools