Biochemical Assessments of Some Liver Function Parameters in Football Players and Sedentary at Rest

Abstract

Studies have revealed that athletes exhibit resting values of certain parameters that differ from those of the general population. This study aimed to assess the liver function status in football players and sedentary at rest. With a purposeful sampling technique, 20 male football players and 20 sedentary were recruited for this observational study following inclusion and exclusion criteria. The Ahmadu Bello University review board approved all procedures under the Declaration of Helsinki. Blood samples were taken at rest, to measure the liver function profiles. The independent t-test was used to compare the values. The level of significance was set at P< 0.05.  Our result showed a significant decrease (p<0.05) in serum ALT activity (27.70 ± 2.1 IU/L vs 38.85 ± 3.0 IU/L) with a significant increase (p<0.05) in serum total bilirubin (11.35 ± 2.6 mmol/L vs 4.80 ± 1.6 mmol/L), and serum albumin (48.75 ±1.0 g/L vs 44.35 ± 0.7 g/L respectively) among the football players compared to sedentary. Notably, the AST activity and ALP value among the football players exceeded the normal limit but was not statistically significant (p> 0.05). These results suggested that regular football training increased liver function at rest. This observation has implications for sports medicine.