Associations between cardiac troponin I and cardiovascular parameters after 12-week endurance training in young moderately trained amateur athletes

BACKGROUND: Previous studies were conducted only on elite athletes, and they investigate acute training responses of cardiac troponin I (CTnI). However, cardiac troponin was found to be elevated in young and inexperienced athletes than adults, and immature myocardium is more susceptible to injury, which needs further consideration. AIM: Therefore, we aimed to observe the association between CTnI and cardiovascular parameters in response to chronic endurance training adaptation in young athletes. METHODS: Fifteen participants aged (19.5±1.3) years were selected and placed in endurance running at 70%-80% HRmax intensity for 35 min per training for the first week and additional 2 min each week from the second to the last week for 12 weeks. Serum cardiac troponin and cardiovascular parameters were assessed at pre-training and after 12 weeks of training. RESULT: We find a significant CTnI level (p<0.05) and it is positively correlated with systolic blood pressure (BP) (r=0.425). Moreover, CTnI was statistically significant (p<0.01) and positively associated with mean arterial pressure (r=0.516) with a moderate correlation. Besides, CTnI showed a significant (p<0.001) and positive relationship with resting heart rate (r=0.605) and a moderate correlation. We did not find a significant relationship between CTnI and diastolic BP in response to endurance training adaptation. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, serum CTnI was significantly and positively associated with cardiovascular parameters in young amateur athletes in response to 12-week endurance training adaptation.