Background: Heroin is an opioid derived from morphine and is either the most often misused or the most swiftly acting opioid. Chronic administration of elevated dosages of heroin leads to the development of physical dependency.
Objective: This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of acute aerobic exercise on certain hematological markers and oxygen saturation in individuals withdrawing from heroin addiction.
Subjects and methods:The study was done on eighty men "forty heroin addicts and forty normal men (control group)", their ages ranged between 20 and 40 years old. Both groups participated in the studyby doing acute aerobic exercise. They were selected from The Department of Addiction in El-Tareak Hospital.
Results: Post-study, there was a statistically significant increase in hemoglobin, hematocrit, red blood cells, platelets, white blood cells, and neutrophils in group B (non-addicts), while oxygen saturation significantly decreased. In group A (withdrawal heroin addicts), there were no statistically significant differences in any hematological parameters or oxygen saturation. Comparisons between groups showed a significant difference in platelets, favoring group B, with no significant differences in other parameters pre-study. Post-study, there were significant differences in hematocrit and platelets, both favoring group B, while other parameters showed no statistically significant differences.
Conclusion: Acute aerobic exercise resulted in a significant increase in hemoglobin, hematocrit, RBCs, platelets, WBCs, and neutrophils in non-addicts (Group B). Furthermore, post-exercise, Group B demonstrated significantly higher hematocrit and platelets compared to withdrawal heroin addicts (Group A). No significant changes were observed in group A across all parameters.