ReviewImmunology and cell biology2016
Exercise, immune function and respiratory infection: An update on the influence of training and environmental stress.
Review in Immunology and cell biology, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 61 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
61 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 142 citations in OpenAlex.
- Orally Ingested Probiotics, Prebiotics, and Synbiotics as Countermeasures for Respiratory Tract Infections in Nonelderly Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.) · 2022Pooled it
- Effects of yeast β-glucans for the prevention and treatment of upper respiratory tract infection in healthy subjects: a systematic review and meta-analysis.European journal of nutrition · 2021Pooled it
- Effects of Ingesting Food Containing Heat-KilledNutrients · 2023Trial
- Effects of antioxidant supplementation on oxidative stress balance in young footballers- a randomized double-blind trial.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2021Trial
- Trial
- Vitamin D₃ Supplementation Reduces the Symptoms of Upper Respiratory Tract Infection during Winter Training in Vitamin D-Insufficient Taekwondo Athletes: A Randomized Controlled Trial.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2018Trial
- One night of partial sleep deprivation impairs recovery from a single exercise training session.European journal of applied physiology · 2017Trial
- Trial
- One Step Further: Integrating Evidence-Based Guidelines into Practice to Address Environmental Challenges at the Men's 2026 FIFA World Cup.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2026Review
- The effect of an 8-week Life Kinetics exercise program on salivary cortisol, alpha-amylase, and ımmunoglobulin-A in U14 female cross-country skiers.Frontiers in physiology · 2026Article
- A Comparison of Training, Injury, Illness, Sleep, Wellbeing and Stress Between Developing Elite and Recreational Athletes.European journal of sport science · 2025Article
- The epithelial barrier theory proposes a comprehensive explanation for the origins of allergic and other chronic noncommunicable diseases.FEBS letters · 2025Review
- The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on professional and advanced cycling athletes: a cross-sectional study in Poland.Archives of medical science : AMS · 2025Article
- Review
- Impact of COVID-19 on physical activity patterns in non-professional populations in Asia: a mini review of pre-, during, and post-pandemic periods.Frontiers in public health · 2025Review
- Nutritional Considerations in Exercise-Based Heat Acclimation: A Narrative Review.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2024Review
- Immune consequences of exercise in hypoxia: A narrative review.Journal of sport and health science · 2024Review
- Muscle Damage and Immune-Endocrine Responses in 20-km Walking Race.International journal of exercise science · 2024Article
- New insight of square stepping exercise in immune fine-tuning for anticipating emerging pandemics.Animal cells and systems · 2024Review
- Physical activity regulates the immune response to breast cancer by a hematopoietic stem cell-autonomous mechanism.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2023Article
1 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
This review outlines recent advancements in the understanding of athlete immune health. Controversies discussed include whether high levels of athletic training and environmental stress (for example, heat acclimation, cryotherapy and hypoxic training) compromise immunity and increase upper respiratory tract infection (URTI). Recent findings challenge early exercise immunology doctrine by showing that international athletes performing high-volume training suffer fewer, not greater, URTI episodes than lower-level performers and URTI incidence decreases, not increases, around the time of competition compared with heavy training. Herein we raise the possibility of host genetic influences on URTI and modifiable behavioural and training-related factors underpinning these recent observations. Continued controversy concerns the proportion of URTI symptoms reported by athletes that are due to infectious pathogens, airway inflammation or as yet unknown causes and indeed whether the proportion differs in athletes and non-athletes. Irrespective of the cause of URTI symptoms (infectious or non-infectious), experts broadly agree that self-reported URTI hinders high-volume athletic training but, somewhat surprisingly, less is known about the influence on athletic performance. In athletes under heavy training, both innate and acquired immunity are often observed to decrease, typically 15-25%, but whether relatively modest changes in immunity increase URTI susceptibility remains a major gap in knowledge. With the exception of cell-mediated immunity that tends to be decreased, exercising in environmental extremes does not provide an additional threat to immunity and host defence. Recent evidence suggests that immune health may actually be enhanced by regular intermittent exposures to environmental stress (for example, intermittent hypoxia training).
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.