Background and aims: To determine the relationship between the risk of exercise addiction (REA) and health status in amateur endurance cyclists. Methods: In 859 (751 men and 108 women) cyclists and 718 inactive subjects (307 men and 411 women), we examined the REA (Exercise Addiction Inventory), training status (volume, frequency, experience, and performance), socioeconomic status, quality of life (QoL) (SF-12), quality of sleep (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index), anxiety and depression (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale), and cardiometabolic risk: body mass index, physical activity (International Physical Activity Questionnaire), physical condition (International Fitness Scale), adherence to the Mediterranean diet (Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener), alcohol and tobacco consumption. Results: In total, 17% of the cyclists showed evidence of REA and 83% showed low REA. REA occurred independent of age, sex, training, and socioeconomic status (all ps > .05). Regardless of REA, the cyclists displayed a better physical QoL and a lower cardiometabolic risk than the inactive subjects (all ps < .05). The cyclists with REA displayed worse values of mental QoL, quality of sleep, and anxiety than cyclists with low REA (all ps < .05). The REA group had better values of mental QoL and anxiety and similar values of quality of sleep than the inactive subjects. The differences in mental QoL between the REA and low REA groups were significantly greater in women (p = .013). There was no Addiction × Sex interaction in the other analyzed variables. Conclusion: Our results suggest that an increased prevalence of REA limits the benefits that amateur endurance cycling has on mental health and quality of sleep.

We evaluated the influence of a 14-wk endurance running program on the exercise-induced release of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) and NH₂-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP). Fifty-eight untrained participants were randomized to supervised endurance exercise (14 wk, 3–4 days/wk, 120–240 min/wk, 65–85% of maximum heart rate) or a control group. At baseline and after the training program, hs-cTnT and NT-proBNP were assessed before and 5 min, 1 h, 3 h, 6 h, 12 h, and 24 h after a 60-min maximal running test. Before training, hs-cTnT was significantly elevated in both groups with acute exercise ( P < 0.0001) with no between-group differences. There was considerable heterogeneity in peak hs-cTnT concentration with the upper reference limit exceeded in 71% of the exercise tests. After training, both baseline and postexercise hs-cTnT were significantly higher compared with pretraining and the response of the control group ( P = 0.008). Acute exercise led to a small but significant increase in NT-proBNP, but this was not mediated by training ( P = 0.121). In summary, a controlled endurance training intervention resulted in higher pre- and postexercise values of hs-cTnT with no changes in NT-proBNP.

To compare the responses of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) and NH2-terminal probrain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) after 60 minutes of swimming in male and female adults and adolescents with different pubertal status. Adolescent swimmers (25 male and 25 female) and adult swimmers (7 male and 9 female) participated in a 60-minute maximal swimming test with serial assessment of hs-cTnT and NT-proBNP at rest, immediately postexercise, and at 1, 3, 6, 12, and 24 hours postexercise. Adolescents were classified according to pubertal status: Tanner stages 3 (n = 14), 4 (n = 22), and 5 (n = 14). Exercise resulted in an increase in both biomarkers. hs-cTnT responses to exercise were similar in adolescents with different pubertal status and adults, although there was substantial individual variability in peak hs-cTnT, with the upper reference limit exceeding in 62% of the participants. Postexercise kinetics for hs-cTnT were largely consistent across all groups with a return to near baseline levels 24 hours postexercise. The male participants showed higher values of hs-cTnT at baseline and postexercise. All groups had similar NT-proBNP responses to acute exercise and recovery. One swimmer exceeded the upper reference limit for NT-proBNP. An exercise-associated increase in hs-cTnT and NT-proBNP occurred in response to a 60-minute maximal swimming test that was independent of pubertal status/adolescent vs adults. The present data also suggests that baseline and postexercise hs-cTnT values are higher in male compared with female, with no sex differences in NT-proBNP values.

This study had two objectives: (i) to examine individual variation in the pattern of cardiac troponin I (cTnI) and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) release in response to high-intensity rowing exercise, and (ii) to establish whether individual heterogeneity in biomarker appearance was influenced by athletic status (elite vs. amateur). We examined cTnI and NT-proBNP in 18 elite and 14 amateur rowers before and 5 min, 1, 3, 6, 12, and 24 h after a 30-min maximal rowing test. Compared with pre-exercise levels, peak postexercise cTnI (pre: 0.014 ± 0.030 μg·L^–1; peak post: 0.058 ± 0.091 μg·L^–1; p = 0.000) and NT-proBNP (pre: 15 ± 11 ng·L^–1; peak post: 31 ± 19 ng·L^–1; p = 0.000) were elevated. Substantial individual heterogeneity in peak and time-course data was noted for cTnI. Peak cTnI exceeded the upper reference limit (URL) in 9 elite and 3 amateur rowers. No rower exceeded the URL for NT-proBNP. Elite rowers had higher baseline (0.019 ± 0.038 vs. 0.008 ± 0.015 μg·L^–1; p = 0.003) and peak postexercise cTnI (0.080 ± 0.115 vs. 0.030 ± 0.029 μg·L^–1; p = 0.022) than amateur rowers, but the change with exercise was similar between groups. There were no significant differences in baseline and peak postexercise NT-proBNP between groups. In summary, marked individuality in the cTnI response to a short but high-intensity rowing bout was observed. Athletic status did not seem to affect the change in cardiac biomarkers in response to high-intensity exercise.

We studied the prevalence and possible association between exercise addiction and health in indoor cycling practitioners. In 1014 (492 women) adult indoor cyclists and 926 (597 women) controls with low levels of physical activity according to the short form of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire, we examined the risk of exercise addiction according to the Exercise Addiction Inventory and several health outcomes through a web-based experiment. The prevalence of a high risk of exercise addiction in cyclists was 13.3%, and it was higher in men than in women (16.5% vs. 10.0%, p = 0.002). Women cyclists with a high risk of exercise addiction had higher levels of physical activity (p < 0.001; effect size = −0.62, 95% CI: (−0.91, −0.32)) and anxiety symptom severity (p = 0.001; Effect Size (ES) = −0.59 (−0.89, −0.30)) than those with a low risk. For both sexes, cyclists with a low risk of exercise addiction had better social function, emotional role, and anxiety symptom severity compared with the controls (all p < 0.002; ES ranged from 0.25 to 0.47). Higher anxiety symptom severity and cardiorespiratory fitness were the main determinants of exercise addiction in cyclists (both p < 0.001). Our data suggest the importance of considering exercise addiction in indoor cyclists.

The objective was to determine whether gait is symmetric in healthy children 6–7 years of age and to assess the effects of laterality and the anatomical zone of the foot. 46 children were subjected to gait symmetry analysis in which the plantar and lateral pressures associated with kicking a ball, static balance, and dynamic support were measured. There were no significant differences in the average pressure exerted by the right and left feet based on the laterality of the child. Independent of each laterality test, a greater pressure on the right rearfoot was observed compared to the left rearfoot and on the left midfoot and forefoot compared to the right.