The influence of sport competition on mood and secretory immunoglobulin A

Research has shown that individuals exhibit a variety of immunological and emotional changes with sport participation. For example, exhaustive aerobic exercise tends to reduce secretory immunoglobulin A (S-IgA) whereas aerobic activity of moderate intensity typically enhances or has little effect on this same parameter. With regard to mood, exercise has been found to reduce tension, depression and anxiety levels in trained and untrained individuals. However, there is little understanding of possible mediating factors such as competitive outcome (winning vs. losing) and mood status on S-IgA modifications. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of sport competition on S-IgA and mood. Twenty-six adult tennis players (21 males, 5 females) involved in tournament matches served as participants in the study. Before and after play, individuals completed the Profile of Mood States (POMS) and rendered saliva samples. S-IgA concentraton was determined using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Data analyses revealed thant males exhibited no significant change in S-IgA concentration from pre to postmatch. However, females displayed significant increases in S-IgA concentration from pre to postmatch. For males, there was a trend toward a main effect for competitive outcome on S-IgA, with winners showing higher levels than losers. In addition, there was a significant negative correlation between S-IgA level and total mood disturbance (TMD), as measured by the POMS. Also, losers reported significantly greater anger, tension and depression scores (on the POMS) than winners. The findings from this study support the notion that sport competition has immunological and emotional effects on participants. The clinical significance of enhanced S-IgA concentration with sport competition in females has not been determined.