Effects of football sporting activity on renal and liver functions among young undergraduate students of a Nigerian tertiary institution

Background Football sporting exercise is one of the most popular events in the world. While there are well-documented reports on the effects of different athletic sporting activities on the biochemical markers of renal and liver functions, there are paucity of well-documented reports on the effects of football activity on Nigerian sportsmen, hence the need for this study. Method Biochemical markers of renal and liver functions (urea, creatinine, aspartate aminotransaminase (AST), alanine aminotransaminase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP)) were determined using Cobas c 111 auto-analyser by Roche. Results The mean urea (mmol/L)±SEM, creatinine (μmol/L)±SEM, AST (U/L)±SEM, ALT (U/L)±SEM and ALP (U/L)±SEM values before and after soccer exercise were 3.56±0.12, 3.76±0.13, p=0.000; 79.36±1.53, 95.90±2.03, p=0.000; 32.54±1.15, 35.81±1.32, p=0.000; 15.68±1.02, 13.97±0.81, p=0.000; and 82.21±3.67, 86.08±3.86, p=0.046, respectively. Pearson’s degree of association for AST and ALT before and after exercise were r=0.678, p=0.000 and r=0.770, p=0.000, respectively; ALT and ALP before exercise showed a positive and significant association (r=0.317, p=0.028). On the other hand, there was a negative but insignificant correlation between urea before exercise and ALP after exercise (r=−0.003, p=0.982) and urea before exercise versus AST after exercise (r=−0.120, p=0.418). A positive but insignificant association was observed between urea and creatinine before exercise (r=0.093, p=0.530). Conclusion Football sporting event is associated with an increase in urea, creatinine, AST and ALP plasma values, and such interpretation of these parameters among sportsmen should be done with caution.