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.