A perspective on current research investigating the effects of hormonal contraceptives on determinants of female athlete performance

<p>Hormonal contraceptives are used by approximately half of female athletes and may affect athleticperformance as a result of their action on the endogenous hormonal milieu. In athletes, hormonalcontraceptive use appears to have little effect on body composition, however further studies are neededassessing progestin-only contraceptives as they may have a negative effect in the general population.The type of progestin contained within the contraceptive may infl uence the anabolic response of muscleto loading although this relationship is complex as it may be due to either direct or indirect effects ofexogenous hormones on protein synthesis and satellite cell proliferation. The altered hormonal milieu inhormonal contraceptive users has predominately been shown to have no effect on muscle strength andwhilst maximal oxygen uptake is sometimes reduced, this does not translate into measures of performance.The majority of previous research has used cross-sectional designs and/or grouped together differenttypes and brands of hormonal contraceptives and little research has been conducted on progestin-onlycontraceptives in athletes. Future research should use prospective, randomised-controlled designs toassess the effects of all types of hormonal contraceptives on athletic performance in females.</p>