@article{ref1,
title="Thyroid hormone abuse among elite athletes",
journal="Journal of the Endocrine Society",
year="2023",
author="Handelsman, David J. and Gild, Matti and Clifton-Bligh, Roderick and Speers, Naomi and Kouzios, Dorothy and McMartin, Melissa C. and Desai, Reena",
volume="7",
number="5",
pages="bvad027-bvad027",
abstract="CONTEXT: Thyroid hormone (TH) abuse for performance enhancement in sport remains controversial and it is not prohibited in sports under the World Anti-Doping Code. However, the prevalence of TH usage in athletes is not known. <br><br>OBJECTIVE: We investigated TH use among Australian athletes undergoing antidoping tests for competition in World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)-compliant sports by measuring TH in serum and surveying mandatory doping control form (DCF) declarations by athletes of all drugs used in the week prior to the antidoping test. <br><br>METHODS: Serum thyroxine (T4), triiodothyronine (T3), and reverse T3 were measured by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and serum thyrotropin, free T4, and free T3 by immunoassays in 498 frozen serum samples from antidoping tests together with a separate set of 509 DCFs. <br><br>RESULTS: Two athletes had biochemical thyrotoxicosis giving a prevalence of 4 per 1000 athletes (upper 95% confidence limit [CL] 16). Similarly, only 2 of 509 DCFs declared usage of T4 and none for T3, also giving a prevalence of 4 (upper 95% CL 16) per 1000 athletes. These estimates were consistent with DCF analyses from international competitions and lower than the estimated T4 prescription rates in the age-matched Australian population. <br><br>CONCLUSION: There is minimal evidence for TH abuse among Australian athletes being tested for competing in WADA-compliant sports.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="2472-1972",
doi="10.1210/jendso/bvad027",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1210/jendso/bvad027"
}