Iron Absorption and Exercise

Fractional Iron Absorption in Response to an Acute Bout of Exercise

Iron is a nutritionally essential mineral required for optimal physical and cognitive performance. Endurance exercise often leads to declines in iron status; however, the reason for the decline is not known. The primary objective of the proposed study is to determine the effects of an acute bout of strenuous endurance exercise on iron absorption and status and markers of inflammation in human volunteers. The investigators hypothesize that an acute bout of strenuous endurance exercise, compared to rest, will reduce iron absorption, resulting in diminished iron status, and that reduced iron absorption will be negatively associated with markers of inflammation. A secondary objective is to monitor iron status throughout a season of competition.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Iron-deficiency; Iron Deficiency Anemia
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Meal

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 31
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Florida
    • Tallahassee, Florida, United States, 32306
      • Florida State University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: ADULT; OLDER_ADULT; CHILD
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Members of the Florida State University Cross Country team
• Refrain from using any pain-relievers (e.g., acetaminophen, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as aspirin, Advil®, Aleve®, Naprosyn®), or any other aspirin-containing product on the 2 study days
• Refrain from using vitamin or mineral supplements on the study days

Exclusion Criteria:

• Musculoskeletal injury that compromise the ability to exercise

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: BASIC_SCIENCE
• Allocation: NON_RANDOMIZED
• Interventional Model: CROSSOVER
• Masking: NONE

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
EXPERIMENTAL: Exercise; During the exercise arm, volunteers will complete a planned workout, as prescribed by the coach. The workout will be designed to be strenuous and induce an inflammatory response.	Other: Meal; Participants will consume a meal containing a stable iron isotope following exercise or rest.
EXPERIMENTAL: Rest; The rest arm will be coordinated with a planned non-workout day, as prescribed by the coach, where volunteers are either scheduled to not run or go for an easy recovery run (<6 miles at a self-described "easy" pace) later in the afternoon.	Other: Meal; Participants will consume a meal containing a stable iron isotope following exercise or rest.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in fractional iron absorption	Stable iron isotopes	Red blood cells collected on day 0 and day 14

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in concentration of ferritin in ng/mL	Blood measure	Day 0 and day 14
Change in concentration of soluble transferrin receptor in nmol/L	Blood measure	Day 0 and day 14
Change in concentration of hemoglobin in g/L	Blood measure	Day 0 and day 14
Change in concentration of hematocrit as %	Blood measure	Day 0 and day 14
Change in concentration of hepcidin in ng/mL	Blood measure	Day 0 and day 14
Change in concentration of IL-6 in pg/mL	Blood measure	Day 0 and day 14

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Florida State University

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Barney DE, Ippolito JR, Berryman CE, Hennigar SR. A Prolonged Bout of Running Increases Hepcidin and Decreases Dietary Iron Absorption in Trained Female and Male Runners. J Nutr. 2022 Sep 6;152(9):2039-2047. doi: 10.1093/jn/nxac129.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (ACTUAL): August 22, 2019
• Primary Completion (ACTUAL): December 4, 2019
• Study Completion (ACTUAL): December 4, 2019

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: August 12, 2019
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 4, 2019
• First Posted (ACTUAL): September 6, 2019

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (ACTUAL): February 27, 2020
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 25, 2020
• Last Verified: February 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Metabolic Diseases; Hematologic Diseases; Anemia, Hypochromic; Anemia; Iron Metabolism Disorders; Anemia, Iron-Deficiency
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2019.28633

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No