Can I exercise with Gilbert’s syndrome?

Gilbert’s syndrome is an inherited condition often discovered by accident, such as when someone has a blood test. It occurs due to a defect in the processing of bilirubin by the liver. The syndrome may cause the skin and the whites of the eyes to have a yellow tinge due to the build-up of bilirubin. Gilbert’s syndrome is typically harmless and treatment isn’t required.

Can I exercise with Gilbert’s syndrome?

If you have Gilbert’s syndrome, there’s no reason to modify your diet or the amount of exercise you do. Twenty male athletes, mean age 26 years, were studied by a workload test with a cycle-ergometer, with increasing power output for 60 minutes until an intensity corresponding to 70% of the individual maximal heart rate was achieved.

Ten of them had familial hyperbilirubinemia (Gilbert’s syndrome) and ten had been considered as healthy controls.

The diagnosis of Gilbert’s syndrome was made using the following criteria: unconjugated hyperbilirubinemia, no systemic symptoms, no overt or clinically recognizable hemolysis, and normal liver function tests. Blood levels of free fatty acids (FFA) showed a progressive significant increase after muscular exercise in both healthy and Gilbert’s syndrome subjects (p < 0.001).