The impact of the altitude in the oxygen saturation in professional football players /O IMPACTO DA ALTITUDE NA SATURACAO DE OXIGENIO EM ATLETAS PROFISSIONAIS DE FUTEBOL

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 (Sa[O.sub.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. Sa[O.sub.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 Sa[O.sub.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 Sa[O.sub.2] measured at sea level (97.8 [+ or -] 0.78%) and in the city of Quito (93.0 [+ or -] 2.62%). There was also a significant difference (p= 0.000) between Sa[O.sub.2] measured at sea level (97.6 [+ or -] 0.78%) and in the city of La Paz (85.3 [+ or -] 1.76%). Still, a significant difference (p=0.000) was identified between the Sa[O.sub.2] measured in the city of Quito (93.0 [+ or -] 2.62%) and in the city of La Paz (85.3 [+ or -] 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. Key words: Altitude. Hypoxia. Oxygen Level. Football. Athletes. Introducao e Objetivo: A exposicao aguda a altitude sem aclimatacao previa pode diminuir o desempenho fisico e esportivo devido a diminuicao da pressao parcial de oxigenio. O objetivo do presente estudo foi comparar a saturacao de oxigenio (Sp[O.sub.2]) ao nivel do mar, e em duas diferentes altitudes, de atletas profissionais de futebol. Materiais e Metodos: Participaram do estudo 10 atletas de futebol de campo que atuaram em partidas nas cidades de Quito no Equador e La Paz na Bolivia. A Sp[O.sub.2] foi medida atraves de um oximetro de dedo digital Sanny NCS. Para a estatistica descritiva foram utilizados os valores da media e desvio-padrao. Para a estatistica inferencial, a fim de comparar a Sp[O.sub.2] ao nivel do mar e nas duas cidades em altitude, foi utilizado o teste t pareado. Todas as analises foram realiza