Abstract

Sports is known to increase inflammation which may in turn affect the levels of interleukin 6 and iron in the players such as in volleyball. The study was done to determine the levels of interleukin 6 (IL-6) and iron levels of volleyball players based on heights and weights of a Nigerian University students. A total number of 80 subjects were recruited for the study, comprising of 40 subjects before playing volleyball (20 males and 20 females) and 40 subjects after playing volleyball (20males, 20 females) from Madonna University Nigeria, Elele Campus, Rivers State, Nigeria. The level of significance was set at p<0.05. The results showed that there was significant increase (p=0.032) in interleukin 6 (IL-6) of volleyball players of 5.1-6.5M compared to volleyball players of 4.0-5.5M and no significant change (p=0.663) in iron of volleyball players 4.0-5.5M compared to volleyball players 5.1-6.5M respectively. The study showed that there was no significant increase (p=0.978) in interleukin 6 (IL-6) of volleyball players of 50-65Kg compared to volleyball players of 66-85Kg and no significant change (p=0.294) in iron of volleyball players 50-65Kg compared to volleyball players 66-85Kg respectively. During exercise, interleukin 6 (IL-6) but not the iron level increase significantly based upon the height of volleyball players. Both of these parameters do not change significantly based upon their weight.