Original articles

Four weeks’ corticosteroid inhalation does not augment maximal power output in endurance athletes

H Kuipers¹, G A C Van’t Hullenaar¹, B M Pluim², S E Overbeek³, O De Hon⁴, E J Van Breda¹, L C Van Loon¹

¹ Department of Movement Sciences, Nutrition and Toxicology Research Institute Maastricht (NUTRIM), University of Maastricht, Maastricht, The Netherlands
² KNLTB (Royal Dutch Lawn Tennis Federation), Amersfoort, The Netherlands
³ Department of Pulmonary Diseases, Bronovo Hospital, The Hague, The Netherlands
⁴ Anti-Doping Authority the Netherlands, Capelle a/d IJssel, The Netherlands

Harm Kuipers, FHML, Department of Movement Sciences, PO Box 616, 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands; harm.kuipers{at}bw.unimaas.nl

Objective: To assess possible ergogenic properties of corticosteroid administration.

Design: A balanced, double-blind, placebo-controlled design was used.

Participants: 28 well-trained cyclists and rowers.

Intervention: 4 weeks’ daily inhalation of 800 µg budesonide or placebo.

Main outcome measurements: The subjects performed three incremental cycle ergometer tests until exhaustion, before and after 2 and 4 weeks of placebo or budesonide administration, to measure maximal power output (W_max). Once a week they filled in a profile of mood state (POMS) questionnaire.

Results: There was no significant difference in W_max between the placebo (376 (SD 25) W) and the corticosteroid group (375 (36) W) during the preintervention test, and there were no significant changes in either group after 2 and 4 weeks of intervention. No effect of the intervention on mood state was found.

Conclusion: 4 weeks of corticosteroid or placebo inhalation in healthy, well-trained athletes did not affect maximal power output or mood state. Hence no ergogenic properties of 4 weeks’ corticosteroid administration could be demonstrated, which corroborates previous studies of short-term corticosteroid administration.

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