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Ethnicity Not To Be Disregarded During Doping Tests

Ethnicity Not To Be Disregarded During Doping Tests According to the World Anti-Doping Agency, steroid is one of the commonly abused drug in the world of sports, since steroid can enhance the level of testosterone in the body. Recent researches however were published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, showing that current steroid doping tests performed on international athletes are actually inaccurate.

Through gas chromatography, standard result was set at a threshold above four for everyone. This chemical analysis would show in the testosterone: epitestosterone ratio through urine samples. The gene directly affected during the test (UGT2B17 gene) also affects the rate of metabolism in the body. Since it affects metabolism, it can also affect the testosterone levels found in the urine.

From EurekAlert! Public News:

“Previous research has indicated that variations in this gene account for some of the differences in the urinary T:E ratio between men of white and Asian ethnic backgrounds. The gene affects metabolism, and therefore the rate at which testosterone is passed out of the body into the urine.

They included 57 men of Black African origin; 32 of Asian origin; 32 of Hispanic origin; and 50 of white (Caucasian) origin in their research. All the men were aged between 18 and 36.

The results revealed the genetic variation in almost one in four (22%) of the African footballers; in eight out 10 (81%) of the Asian players; one in 10 of the white men, and in 7% of the Hispanic players.

Based on these findings, the Swiss researchers “recalibrated” the thresholds for each ethnic group.

The new T:E ratios were: 5.6 for men of African origin; 5.7 for white men, and 5.8 for men of Hispanic origin. For men of Asian origin, the ratio was 3.8.”

This research concluded that a single threshold result is not deemed fit to be used for international sports. Doping tests and threshold standards should be specific for each ethnic group due to genetic variations. Furthermore, it just shows that many factors may also indirectly affect an athlete’s steroid profile.

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