Abstract
Asthma, exercise-induced bronchoconstriction, and airway hyper-responsiveness are often found in elite athletes, perhaps as a consequence of their sport or maybe because asthma is a common disorder in young adults. Inhaled beta2-agonists (IBA) are frequently used in elite athletes, but due to regulations introduced by the International Olympic Committee, the use of anti-asthmatic therapy might change. Drugs that make ergogenic effect persist are prohibited in all athletes, whether or not they take part in competitions and systemic steroids and beta2-agonists are among such drugs. On the other hand, opinion is more divided about the use of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) and IBA. In humans, no effect has been found on the oxygen uptake, performance or distance run with therapeutic doses of IBA, either in asthmatics or non-asthmatics, whereas others report an ergogenic effect and better lung function of high doses of a beta2-agonist in non-asthmatics. Anti-asthmatic treatment is necessary for asthmatics, but should not be used by non-asthmatic elite athletes due to both possible systemic effects and furthermore, side effects of both ICS and IBA.
Highlights
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 300 million people suffer from asthma, a disease which is increasing in western societies, and asthma is the most common chronic disease among children, adolescents and young adults
The frequency of airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) in elite athletes is higher than expected as well as the frequency of asthma-like symptoms which might be caused by exhaustive ventilation, but the pathogenesis is still unknown
Asthma among the general public is a permanent phenomenon, it seems to be different in elite athletes, as asthma apparently disappeared after retiring from the sport (Fitch et al 2008)
Summary
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 300 million people suffer from asthma, a disease which is increasing in western societies, and asthma is the most common chronic disease among children, adolescents and young adults. A steady increase in the prevalence of asthma, has been seen in most countries in recent decades (Thomsen et al 2011) and the higher frequency of asthma in young people may partly explain the high frequency found in elite athletes – both frequency of asthma symptoms and use of antiasthmatic medication are different than expected. The frequency of asthma among the general population is around 7-10%; whereas the frequency of asthma among elite athletes is found to be higher, especially among endurance athletes (Pedersen et al 2008b). It seems as asthma is something they gain, as only one third of Olympic athletes had childhood asthma. Asthma among the general public is a permanent phenomenon, it seems to be different in elite athletes, as asthma apparently disappeared after retiring from the sport (Fitch et al 2008)
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