Boston Marathon athlete performance outcomes and intra-event medical encounter risk associated with low energy availability indicators.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To determine the association between survey-based self-reported problematic low energy availability indicators (LEA-I) and race performance and intra-event medical encounters during the Boston Marathon.

Methods

1030 runners who were registered for the 2022 Boston Marathon completed an electronic survey (1-4 weeks pre-race) assessing LEA-I, training and medical history. De-identified survey data were linked to event wearable timing chips and medical encounter records. LEA-I was defined as: an elevated Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire score, elevated Low Energy Availability (LEA) in Females Questionnaire score, LEA in Males Questionnaire with a focus on gonadal dysfunction score and/or self-report of diagnosed eating disorder/disordered eating.

Results

SUBMITTER: Whitney KE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11874277 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature