Supplement usage is higher among athletes than in the general population, with some studies suggesting a typical usage level of about 60%. There are a wide variety of supplements such as vitamins and minerals, but few have clear evidence of efficacy. At the same time, some products have been known to include banned substances, creating the risk of "unintentional doping" by those who use them carelessly.
Although the number of reported cases of Japanese athletes caught for doping is small, the proportion of them due to "unintentional doping" though supplement usage is high. Athlete and coaches need to be constantly aware of the risks. According to 2016 data from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), across sports the number of athletes suspended for doping is highest in track and field. From this it is clear that it is necessary to understand the prevalence of supplement usage in track and field. But that is anything but clear in the elite-level sport in Japan.
The subjects of Tabata's study were athletes who competed in 38 international track and field meets as members of the Japanese national team from July, 2013 to October, 2018. Before each international event, the JAAF medical committee sent every athlete a survey regarding their supplement usage habits. Survey results were collected and analyzed.
Respondents included 275 junior athletes under age 20 with an average age of 17.7 +/- 1.1 years, and 299 senior athletes 20 or older, with an average age of 25.2 +/- 3.9 years. 314 of the respondents were male and 260 female. All standard Olympic disciplines were represented, with 319 athletes from long distance events, 97 from sprints, 86 from jumps, 65 from throws and 7 from mixed events. Based on the National Sports Science Center's supplement classifications, supplements were divided into eleven categories for examination: proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, creatine, caffeine, fish oil, ubiquinone (coenzyme Q10), herbal supplements, and other.
Looking at the results, almost two-thirds of respondent athletes, 63.9%, reported supplement usage. By gender, 59.6% of men reported usage versus 69.2 % of women, a statistically higher usage rate for women (p=0.018). Usage among juniors was reported at 58.9% and among seniors at 68.9%, again a significantly higher rate (p=0.012). Long distance athletes reported the highest usage rate at 75.8%, with 71.7% among middle distance athletes, 57.7% among sprinters, 57.4% in hurdles, 52.3% in jumps, 49.2% in throws and 44% in combined events.
A total of 817 different supplements were reported, an average of 1.4 per athlete. Senior female marathoners reported using the largest variety of supplements per athlete, using an average of 12 different types. By gender males used 1.3 +/-1.4 supplement types, women using 1.6 +/-1.7 (p-0.008). Juniors used 1.0 +1.2 types, with seniors using 1.8 +/-1.8 (p<0.001). Long distance athletes used the largest number of supplements, 1.9 +/-1.8 types, followed by middle distance, hurdles and combined events. Other events had significantly smaller numbers of supplements than long distance (p<0.05).
Amino acids were the most common ingredient, present in 49.8% of reported supplements. Vitamins were next at 48.3%, minerals at 22.8% and protein at 17.8%. Men had significantly higher protein usage than women, 20.7% vs. 14.2%, and likewise for creatine usage, 12.1% vs. 5.5%. Women had higher rates of vitamin usage, 55.4% vs. 43.3%, and amino acid usage than men, 56.5% vs. 43.3%. Senior athletes had significantly higher usage rates for vitamins, minerals, amino acids, creatine and fish oil.
Long distance athletes used higher levels of vitamins and minerals, with lower creatine usage. Sprinters reported heavy creatine usage, with relative sparse vitamin and mineral supplement usage. Other differences between disciplines, such as high protein and creatine usage among throwers, were also reported.
Based on this data the study's author concluded, "Roughly 2/3 of elite-level Japanese track and field athletes regularly use supplements. Analysis by gender, age and discipline indicated that usage rates were significantly higher among women, seniors, and long distance athletes. Amino acids and vitamins are the most commonly used ingredients, but there is variance among disciplines." Given the dissociation between the level of evidence regarding supplements' effectiveness and their usage rates, the author cautioned, "When utilizing a supplement its necessity should be carefully considered, and the product's effectiveness and safety should be thoroughly examined."
source articles:
https://sndj-web.jp/news/000885.php
translated by Brett Larner
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