A Growing Problem with Allergies
The majority of research related to sports and allergy focus on adult
professional athletes, with few studies based on young athletes. Ventura
et al. analyzed population of young soccer players and reported high
prevalence of allergic diseases in this group. However, in the
comparison with control students, results were not significantly
different. This suggests that intensive training by soccer players is
not related to a greater risk of allergic disease.
Bougault et al. reported that 49% of studied soccer players were
allergic to at least 1 allergen, 33% reported allergies and 16% had
confirmed EIB. Rates of allergy treatment was low, mainly because 44%
of athletes believed that antiallergic drugs harmed their physical
performance and could disqualify them from training, due to the possible
presence of these drugs on World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) prohibited
list. The study emphasizes the necessary not only to diagnose players
with respiratory symptoms, but also to screen asymptomatic athletes.