ArticleEuropean heart journal2025
Mortality in male bodybuilding athletes.
Article in European heart journal, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Duration-Dependent Cardiac Effects of Anabolic-Androgenic Steroid Use in Strength-Trained Athletes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Echocardiography (Mount Kisco, N.Y.) · 2026Pooled it
- Prevention of atherosclerotic coronary artery disease in tactical athletes.American journal of preventive cardiology · 2026Review
- Multidisciplinary and Personalized Molecular Diagnosis to Solving Sudden Death During Sport.Molecular diagnosis & therapy · 2026Review
- When Size Goes Inside: Visceromegaly in Bodybuilders Is Not Attributed to High-Protein Intake but More Likely Associated with the Use of Appearance- and Performance-Enhancing Drugs.Medicine and science in sports and exercise · 2026Article
- Cardiovascular Implications of the Enhanced Games: Performance Enhancing Drugs in Competition and Recreation.Sports medicine - open · 2026Review
- Annual Banned-Substance Review 18th Edition-Analytical Approaches in Human Sports Drug Testing 2024/2025.Drug testing and analysis · 2026Review
- Beetroot Juice Enhances Nitrate Metabolism and Endothelial Function but Not Cardiovascular or Strength Performance in Bodybuilders with a History of Anabolic-Androgenic Steroid Abuse: A Crossover Trial.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Strength and resistance training in adult congenital heart disease: A guide to exercise prescription in the clinic.International journal of cardiology. Congenital heart disease · 2026Review
- Sporting Careers After ICD Implantation in Elite Athletes.Journal of cardiovascular development and disease · 2026Article
- Mortality in female bodybuilding athletes.European heart journal · 2026Article
- Safety and efficacy of physical activity in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy patients: a systematic review and metanalysis.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
12 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
aimsPremature deaths of bodybuilders have raised questions about the safety and associated risks of this discipline. The main objective of this study was to analyse mortality risk in a large international population of bodybuilders.
methodsMale athletes who performed International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness (IFBB) competitions between 2005 and 2020 were identified and classified according to age, division and level. A standardized web-search, tailored to detect deaths, was performed for each athlete using specific keywords, with follow-up through July 2023. Mortality rates have been calculated both as the overall incidence rate during the monitored period as well as the annual incidence rate of those who participated in at least one competition within the previous year, i.e. currently competing athletes.
resultsA total of 20 286 athletes competing in 730 IFBB events were identified with an average follow-up of 8.1 ± 3.8 years (i.e. 190 211 athlete-years of surveillance). During the study period, 121 deaths were identified: 73 were considered sudden deaths, of which 46 were classified as sudden cardiac deaths (SCD), including 11 currently competing athletes (mean age 34.7 ± 6.1 years). The incidence of SCD in currently competing athletes was 32.83 cases per 100 000 athlete-years. Available autopsies of SCD cases consistently showed cardiomegaly and ventricular hypertrophy. Professional bodybuilders had a higher risk of SCD than amateurs (HR 5.23 [3.58-7.64]).
conclusionsThe results of this study should alert the bodybuilding and medical communities to the need for improved preventive measures to promote safer sports participation.
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