ArticleNutrients2022
Auditing the Representation of Female Versus Male Athletes in Sports Science and Sports Medicine Research: Evidence-Based Performance Supplements.
Article in Nutrients, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 41 papers, 9 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
41 citing papers in PubMed, 9 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Pooled it
- Running Assessed Maximal Oxygen Uptake Increases with Participant Classification Framework Tier in Overall Cross-Country Skiing Performance: A Systematic Review with Meta-regressions.Sports medicine - open · 2026Pooled it
- Primary anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction in female athlete-specific literature lacks standardization in outcome reporting : a scoping review.Bone & joint open · 2026Pooled it
- Caffeine and physical performance in female intermittent sport athletes: a systematic review and meta-analysis considering menstrual cycle phase.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Pooled it
- Sport supplementation in competitive swimmers: a systematic review with meta-analysis.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2025Pooled it
- Nutritional Strategies for Optimizing Health, Sports Performance, and Recovery for Female Athletes and Other Physically Active Women: A Systematic Review.Nutrition reviews · 2025Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Menstrual cycle hormones and oral contraceptives: a multimethod systems physiology-based review of their impact on key aspects of female physiology.Journal of applied physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985) · 2023Pooled it
- Bone Quality in Competitive Athletes: A Systematic Review.Journal of musculoskeletal & neuronal interactions · 2023Pooled it
- Caffeine's influence on vertical jump height: a real-life collegiate student-athlete approach.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2025Trial
- Caffeine enhances performance regardless of fueling strategy; however, high carbohydrate availability is associated with improved training speeds compared with ketogenic diet.The British journal of nutrition · 2025Trial
- Eight weeks of resistance exercise improves mood state and intestinal permeability in healthy adults: A randomized controlled trial.Physiological reports · 2025Trial
- A Randomized Controlled Trial of Changes in Fluid Distribution across Menstrual Phases with Creatine Supplementation.Nutrients · 2023Trial
- Effect of New Zealand blackcurrant extract on rest and walking-induced cardiorespiratory and metabolic responses in young adult Southeast Asian women.European journal of applied physiology · 2026Article
- Passive heat intervention research in women: Systematic review and audit of female representation.Experimental physiology · 2026Review
- Influence of Estradiol Levels and Menstrual Cycle Phase on Basal and Exercise-Induced ROS and IL-6 Responses in Eumenorrheic Women.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- A pilot self-coach alignment audit in NCAA collegiate rowers: field feasibility, null findings, and design-sensitivity analysis for future self-verification research.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2026Article
- Advancing Women's Performance in Fitness and Sports: An Exploratory Field Study on Hormonal Monitoring and Menstrual Cycle-Tailored Training Strategies.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Effects of anthocyanin-rich blackcurrant extract on cardiovascular and metabolic responses during rest and treadmill running: a case study in an elite national level female Southeast Asian endurance athlete.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2026Article
- Critical Narrative Review of the Applications of Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Technology in Sports Science.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Although sports nutrition guidelines promote evidence-based practice, it is unclear whether women have been adequately included in the underpinning research. In view of the high usage rates of performance supplements by female athletes, we conducted a standardised audit of the literature supporting evidence-based products: β-alanine, caffeine, creatine, glycerol, nitrate/beetroot juice and sodium bicarbonate. Within 1826 studies totalling 34,889 participants, just 23% of participants were women, although 34% of studies included at least one woman. Across different supplements, 0-8% of studies investigated women exclusively, while fewer (0-2%) were specifically designed to compare sex-based responses. The annual publication of female-specific studies was ~8 times fewer than those investigating exclusively male cohorts. Interestingly, 15% of the female participants were classified as international/world-class athletes, compared with 7% of men. Most studies investigated performance outcomes but displayed poorer representation of women (16% of participants), whereas health-focussed studies had the greatest proportion of female participants (35%). Only 14% of studies including women attempted to define menstrual status, with only three studies (~0.5%) implementing best practice methodologies to assess menstrual status. New research should target the efficacy of performance supplements in female athletes, and future sports nutrition recommendations should specifically consider how well female athletes have contributed to the evidence-base.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.