New study: Asthma medication ‘gigantic benefit’ for performance

Norwegian newspaper VG news about a new study that tells about the benefits of asthma drugs in competitive sports.

The results of the study state that asthma medications can improve performance by two to three percent in competitions that last 60-90 minutes.

– In competitive sports, the difference is gigantic. It could make the difference between winning and losing, research director Jürgen Steinacker describes according to Sportchau.

In the study carried out in cooperation with the World Anti-Doping Federation Wada, 12 healthy athletes were tested.

The Norwegian doctor doubts

Norwegian national team doctor interviewed by VG Ove Ferange says that he is skeptical about the result, because according to him, previous studies have shown that there are no benefits.

He considers the number of the researched group to be a weakness of the study.

– But it is clear that if there are new, extensive and good studies that show something else, it is naturally something that Wada has to look at, Ferangen admits.

Over the years, the use of asthma medications and their effects on performance have been featured a lot especially in cross-country skiing. The questions have particularly concerned Norway, because in that country even healthy athletes have been given medication for respiratory diseases.

Ferangen says that not a single healthy athlete in the Norwegian team currently receives asthma medication, but says that 50-70 percent of the athletes in the team of the biggest country in the sport have been diagnosed with asthma.

In the mentioned context, the reading is not necessarily as exceptional as it suddenly sounds. Rikhard Mäki-Heikkilän according to a doctoral study published in 2022, cross-country skiers have as much as 2.5 times more asthma compared to the rest of the population.

Prohibited drugs with permission

According to Ferangen, asthma is basically a burden. You can get on the same line with others with the help of medication.

– Anyone with a respiratory problem or a diagnosis of asthma suffers from congestion or lungs that are not working properly. Especially when they strain themselves or it’s cold and dry. Then they can’t use their airways like a healthy person can. In that case, treatment is needed so that it functions normally, Ferangen explains.

There are permitted and prohibited options among asthma medications. If the athlete is prescribed a prohibited drug, a permit must be applied for its use.

Among other things, Wada has set limits for the use of salbutamol and formoterol, and athletes who have exceeded the limit values ​​in tests have been banned from competition.

One of those who fell off salbutamol is Norway’s top skier of recent years Martin Johnsrud Sundby.