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Haematocrit in elite athletes
P C Vergouwen1, T Collée, J J Marx
1Department of Topsport Medicine, University Medical Center Utrecht, The Netherlands. P.Vergouwen@chir.azu.nl
International Journal of Sports Medicine
|December 22, 1999
Summary
Hematocrit (Ht) levels in elite athletes are similar to controls, challenging doping exclusion cut-offs. Some clean athletes, especially highlanders, may exceed thresholds, making doping detection difficult.
Area of Science:
- Sports Science
- Biochemistry
- Anti-Doping Research
Background:
- Recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO) can non-physiologically elevate hemoglobin (Hb) and hematocrit (Ht), enhancing athletic performance but posing health risks.
- Anti-doping regulations, like those from the Union Cycliste Internationale, use Ht cut-off values (0.50 for men, 0.47 for women) to prevent rhEPO doping.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether current hematocrit (Ht) exclusion values for doping unfairly disqualify clean elite athletes.
- To compare Ht levels in elite athletes with healthy control populations.
Main Methods:
- Measured Ht in 50 male and 41 female elite athletes over 43 months.
- Compared athlete Ht values with those of 134 male and 144 female healthy control subjects.
- Analyzed Ht variations, particularly in high-altitude athletes.
Main Results:
- No significant Ht differences were found between male elite athletes and controls, or between female elite athletes and controls.
- Several male controls (6) and elite athletes (5, including 4 highlanders) exceeded the Ht>0.50 threshold.
- Five female controls exceeded the Ht>0.47 threshold, but no female elite athletes did.
- Elevated Ht values in athletes were primarily observed in highlanders.
Conclusions:
- The study suggests that Ht cut-off values for rhEPO doping detection may lead to the unjustified exclusion of clean athletes.
- Setting a universal Ht decision value for doping control is challenging due to natural variations, especially in high-altitude populations.