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. 2020 Aug 5;17(16):5637.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph17165637.

Can the Neuromuscular Performance of Young Athletes Be Influenced by Hormone Levels and Different Stages of Puberty?

Paulo Francisco de Almeida-Neto  1 , Dihogo Gama de Matos  2 , Vanessa Carla Monteiro Pinto  1 , Paulo Moreira Silva Dantas  1 , Tatianny de Macêdo Cesário  1 , Luíz Felipe da Silva  1 , Alexandre Bulhões-Correia  1 , Felipe José Aidar  2   3   4   5 , Breno Guilherme de Araújo Tinôco Cabral  1
Affiliations

Can the Neuromuscular Performance of Young Athletes Be Influenced by Hormone Levels and Different Stages of Puberty?

Paulo Francisco de Almeida-Neto et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: Endocrine mechanisms can be a determining factor in the neuromuscular performance of young athletes.

Objective: The objective of the present study was to relate maturational and hormonal markers to neuromuscular performance, as well as to verify whether young athletes with different testosterone levels show differences in muscle strength.

Methods: The sample consisted of 37 young male Brazilian athletes (11.3 ± 0.94 years) who were members of a sports initiation project. Hormonal markers were analyzed biochemically by blood samples, and maturation markers by mathematical models based on anthropometry. Body composition was verified by tetrapolar bioimpedance. The performance of upper and lower limb strength and body speed were analyzed.

Results: Hormonal and maturational markers were related to neuromuscular performance (p < 0.05). Young people with higher testosterone levels showed higher muscle strength (p < 0.05). Artificial neural networks showed that testosterone predicted the performance of upper limbs by 49%, and maturation by 60%. Maturation foreshadowed the performance of lower limbs by 30.3%.

Conclusion: Biological maturation and hormonal levels can be related to neuromuscular performance, and young people with higher testosterone levels show superior muscle strength in relation to the others.

Keywords: estradiol; puberty; sports performance; testosterone; young athletes.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Study design. a = Study information for volunteers and their respective guardians. b = Biochemical tests. c = Body composition test. d = Collecting anthropometric measurements. e = Upper limb power test. f = Upper limb speed test. g = Lower limb power test. h = Body speed with change of direction test.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Comparison according to the stage of sexual maturation. * Statistically significant. TRT = Testosterone. EST = Estradiol. GH = Growth Hormone. ULP = Upper limbs power. SJ = Squat Jump. ULS = Upper limb speed. BScD = Body speed with change of direction.
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