Similar sweat sodium profiles across soccer, handball, and distance running athletes in Cameroon

Abstract

African athletes residing in a tropical climate undergo electrolyte losses through sweating. The aim of this study was to determine the profile sweat sodium and potassium concentrations in Cameroonian athletes. A total of 49 male athletes (31 soccer players, 10 handball players, and 8 distance runners) aged 24 ± 5 years old performed a 45-min treadmill trial in a laboratory (27 ± 1.2°C; 69.9 ± 5.3%). Their sweat was collected using patch technique to determine local sweat [Na+] and the sample was normalized to whole-body sweat [Na+]. [K+]sweat was also measured. The participants completed two questionnaires providing information on their nutrition, hydration, and sweating habits. Our results showed that [Na+]sweat was similar among the three groups of athletes. The proportion of athletes with highly salty sweat ([Na+]sweat > 60 mmol/L) was 16.3%. Among soccer players, midfielders had higher [Na+]sweat (p = 0.0036) compared to attackers and defenders. All « salty sweaters » athletes reported eye irritation compared to 64% of “typical sweater” athletes (30< [Na+]sweat < 60 mmol/L); significant difference (p = 0.01) in sweat-eye irritation was found between “salty sweaters” and “low salt sweaters” ([Na+]sweat < 30 mmol/L). The mean and variance in [Na+]sweat were similar to what has been published for Western populations. The consumption of beverages among athletes is exclusively limited to different forms of water. These findings emphasize the importance of individualized hydration rather than sport-specific hydration assessment.