Athletes more prone to Asthma than other diseases: study

A study by the University of Western Australia has identified athletes with asthma and airway hyper-responsiveness (AHR) from a study of previous five Olympic games, the Science Daily reported.

Asthma is the most common chronic conditions among Olympic athletes, with almost 8 per cent sportsperson suffering from it mainly due to strenuous training.

"Inhaling polluted or cold air is considered an important factor which might explain the cause in some sports, but not in all," researcher at the University of Western Australia and sole author of the study Kenneth D Fitch was quoted as saying by the paper.

Its relatively late onset in many older athletes suggests to the experts that the years of intense training could be one of the causes.

The author identified those athletes with documented asthma and AHR from among those who during the last five Olympic games -from 2002 to 2010- used inhaled beta-2 agonists (IBA), a drug frequently used by elite athletes as an anti-asthma treatment.

The results, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, show a prevalence of around 8 per cent, which makes these chronic conditions the most common among Olympic athletes.

"The quality of inhaled air could be harmful to the airways, but does not cause the same effect in all sports," Fitch said.

For example, in the summer Olympics the prevalence of asthma and AHR is much greater in those who practice endurance sports.

There are many more asthmatic winter athletes compared with summer athletes because in summer competition there are less individual medals in endurance sports, the study said.