Self-reported asthma and allergies in top athletes compared to the general population - results of the German part of the GA2LEN-Olympic study 2008

Prior to the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, 291 German candidates for participation (65%) completed a questionnaire on respiratory and allergic symptoms. Results were compared to those of a general population study in Germany (n = 2425, response 68%). Furthermore, associations between types of sports and the self-reported outcomes were calculated. All models were adjusted for age, sex, level of education and smoking.Athletes reported significantly more doctors' diagnosed asthma (17% vs. 7%), more current use of asthma medication (10% vs. 4%) and allergic rhinitis (25% vs. 17%) compared to the general population. After adjustment, top athletes only had an increased Odds Ratio for doctor's diagnosed asthma (OR: 1.6; 95% CI 1.1-2.5). Compared to the general population, athletes in endurance sports had an increased OR for doctor's diagnosed asthma (2.4; 1.5-3.8) and current use of asthma medication (1.8; 1.0-3.4). In this group, current wheeze was increased when use of asthma medication was taken into account (1.8; 1.1-2.8). For other groups of athletes, no significantly increased ORs were observed.Compared to the general population, an increased risk of asthma diagnosis and treatment was shown for athletes involved in endurance sports. This might be due to a better medical surveillance and treatment of these athletes.Allergies and asthma are frequent in elite athletes. Previous studies have shown that the prevalence of allergic rhinitis in elite athletes is between 15% and 29% [1-5] and that wheezing is reported by 6% to 15% of athletes [2,3,6]. The prevalence of asthma in athletes was reported to be different, based on the methods used and the athletes included in the study. E.g., in the US, the prevalence differed from 12% among athletes (football players) in 1984 to 15% among athletes participating in the 1996 Olympic Summer Games and up to 22% among athletes who participated in the 1998 Olympic Winter Games [2,7,8]. In Australia the prevalence of diagnosed asthma in Ol