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An abductive inference approach to assess the performance‑enhancing effects of drugs included on the World Anti‑Doping Agency Prohibited List
Citation
Breenfeldt Andersen, A and Jacobson, GA and Bejder, J and Premilovac, D and Richards, SM and Rasmussen, JJ and Jessen, S and Hostrup, M, An abductive inference approach to assess the performance‑enhancing effects of drugs included on the World Anti‑Doping Agency Prohibited List, Sports Medicine ISSN 0112-1642 (2021) [Refereed Article]
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
DOI: doi:10.1007/s40279-021-01450-9
Abstract
Some have questioned the evidence for performance-enhancing efects of several substances included on the World AntiDoping Agency’s Prohibited List due to the divergent or inconclusive fndings in randomized controlled trials (RCTs).
However, inductive statistical inference based on RCTs-only may result in biased conclusions because of the scarcity of
studies, inter-study heterogeneity, too few outcome events, or insufcient power. An abductive inference approach, where the
body of evidence is evaluated beyond considerations of statistical signifcance, may serve as a tool to assess the plausibility
of performance-enhancing efects of substances by also considering observations and facts not solely obtained from RCTs.
Herein, we explored the applicability of an abductive inference approach as a tool to assess the performance-enhancing
efects of substances included on the Prohibited List. We applied an abductive inference approach to make inferences on
debated issues pertaining to the ergogenic efects of recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO), beta2-agonists and anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS), and extended the approach to more controversial drug classes where RCTs are limited.
We report that an abductive inference approach is a useful tool to assess the ergogenic efect of substances included on the
Prohibited List—particularly for substances where inductive inference is inconclusive. Specifcally, a systematic abductive
inference approach can aid researchers in assessing the efects of doping substances, either by leading to suggestions of
causal relationships or identifying the need for additional research.
Item Details
| Item Type: | Refereed Article |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | exercise, performance enhancing drugs, sports medicine |
| Research Division: | Biomedical and Clinical Sciences |
| Research Group: | Pharmacology and pharmaceutical sciences |
| Research Field: | Clinical pharmacology and therapeutics |
| Objective Division: | Expanding Knowledge |
| Objective Group: | Expanding knowledge |
| Objective Field: | Expanding knowledge in the biological sciences |
| UTAS Author: | Jacobson, GA (Professor Glenn Jacobson) |
| UTAS Author: | Premilovac, D (Dr Dino Premilovac) |
| UTAS Author: | Richards, SM (Dr Stephen Richards) |
| ID Code: | 143873 |
| Year Published: | 2021 |
| Web of Science® Times Cited: | 7 |
| Deposited By: | Medicine |
| Deposited On: | 2021-04-08 |
| Last Modified: | 2022-08-26 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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