Electrolyte losses during a land based duatlhon competition in the heat

Abstract

Prolonged sports events such as duathlon (6 km running, 26 km cycling and 4 km running), may lead the athlete to a fluid and electrolyte imbalance, due to high sweat rates, especially in a hot environment. The present study evaluated sodium (Na+), potassium (K+) and chloride (Cl-) losses during a duathlon competition performed in the heat (31,2 ºC and 51% relative humidity), analyzing the sweat composition and blood levels of these electrolytes. Twelve athletes took part in this study. Blood samples were obtained pre- and post-exercise and sweat was collected using sweat patches. The average time to complete the competition was 85.0 ± 6.57 min. The percentage of dehydration was 3.0 ± 0.92%. The replacement of fluid losses was 31 ± 18.7%. The sweat rate was 1.86 ± 0.56 Lh-1. Sweat Na+, K+, and Cl-concentrations were 71 ± 26.05 mmolL-1, 5.43 ±1.98 mmolL-1 and 58.93 ± 25.99 mmolL-1, respectively. The total sweat loss of Na+, K+ and Cl- was 132.11± 62.82 mmol, 10.09 ± 5.01 mmol and 109.75 ± 58.49 mmol, respectively. In conclusion, the athletes did not drink enough liquid to replace their volume of fluid loss. Furthermore, the participants presented high sweat rate accompanied by losses of Na+, K+ and Cl-. However, serum electrolyte concentrations were not changed.