The impact of the altitude in the oxygen saturation in professional football players

Introduction and Purpose: Acute exposure to altitude without previous acclimatization can decrease physical and sports performance due to the decrease in partial oxygen pressure. The aim of this study was to compare oxygen saturation (SaO2) 2 ) at sea level, and at two different altitudes, for professional football athletes. Methods: Ten field football athletes who participated in matches in the cities of Quito in Ecuador and La Paz in Bolivia participated in the study. SaO2 2 was measured using a Sanny NCS digital finger oximeter. For descriptive statistics, the mean and standard deviation values were used. For inferential statistics, to compare SaO2 2 at sea level and in the two cities at altitude, the paired t test was used. All analyzes were performed using the statistical program SPSS for Windows 20.0, with a significance level of 5%. Results and Discussion: A significant difference (p=0.000) was identified between SaO2 2 measured at sea level (97.8 +/- 0.78%) and in the city of Quito (93.0 +/- 2.62%). There was also a significant difference (p= 0.000) between SaO2 2 measured at sea level (97.6 +/- 0.78%) and in the city of La Paz (85.3 +/- 1.76%). Still, a significant difference (p=0.000) was identified between the SaO2 2 measured in the city of Quito (93.0 +/- 2.62%) and in the city of La Paz (85.3 +/- 1.76%). Conclusion: It is important that physical and technical coaches are aware of these physiological changes, to try to minimize these impacts both on the athletes' health and on the results of the football matches.