Sports anemia:

Question

​Sports anemia:

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Sports anemia is a form of relative erythrocytopenia, which means that the number of red blood cells is lower than expected but not necessarily below the normal range for healthy individuals. This condition is considered a normal adaptation to endurance training, rather than a pathological state. It occurs because endurance exercise stimulates plasma volume expansion and transient hemodilution, leading to a decrease in hematocrit and hemoglobin levels. The body's response to this process is to produce more red blood cells, which eventually restores the hematocrit and hemoglobin levels to normal. Therefore, sports anemia does not require treatment with iron supplements, and it is not caused by a decrease in fluid volume associated with training. It may occur more often in competitive athletes than casual exercisers due to the higher levels of training intensity and frequency among athletes. However, the term "sports anemia" is now considered outdated, and most experts prefer to use the more accurate and inclusive term "exercise-induced erythropoiesis."

​Sports Anemia

Sports Anemia