@article { , title = {Impact of exercise-induced bronchoconstriction on athletic performance and airway health in rugby union players}, abstract = {All rights reserved. Background: There is emerging evidence that the prevalence of exercise-induced bronchospasm (EIB) is significantly under-reported in many sports. There is little known about the potential performance improvement that may exist when sports players are detected and treated for EIB. Methods: Professional rugby union players with no previous history of asthma volunteered to participate in the study. Each player performed the rugby football union (RFU) fitness test and completed a eucapnic voluntary hyperpnoea (EVH) challenge at baseline and 12 weeks later. A player with a positive EVH result was prescribed beclomethasone inhaler (200 µg; two puffs per day) for 12 weeks. Players with a negative EVH test were randomly allocated to either a placebo inhaler group or acted as controls. Results: Twenty-nine rugby union players (mean ± SD; age 22.1± 4.2 years; body mass 100.1± 6.9 kg; height 1.84± 0.07 m) were recruited. Seven players (24\% of total) had a positive EVH challenge with a mean decrease in FEV1 of -13.6 ±3.5\% from baseline. There was no significant group difference (P=0.359) in performance improvement of the RFU fitness test between the EVH positive group (mean Δ: -22.3 seconds; 8.0 ± 2.8\% improvement), placebo group (mean Δ: -16.5 seconds; 6.7 ± 1.6\% improvement), and controls (mean Δ: -12.2 seconds; 5.7 ± 3.5\% improvement). Conclusion: Prevalence of EIB in professional rugby union players was 24\%. A 12- week prescription of beclomethasone (200 µg) showed similar improvements in RFU fitness test performance in players diagnosed with EIB compared to players with healthy airway responsiveness.}, eissn = {1528-3356}, issue = {4}, journal = {International SportMed Journal}, note = {Article has no doi. Website appears to be defunct.}, pages = {333-342}, publicationstatus = {Published}, url = {https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/382927}, volume = {15}, keyword = {Health and Health Inequalities, Screening, Asthma, Exercise-induced bronchoconstriction, Athletic performance}, year = {2014}, author = {Dickinson, John and Ingle, Lee and Greenwell, Jon and Spiteri, Danica Bonello} }