Bodybuilders - understanding liver health in bodybuilders
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Developing an understanding of the prevalence of Hepatitis C virus and other liver morbidity amongst bodybuilders
IRAS ID
269566
Contact name
Julie Parkes
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Southampton
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 4 months, 17 days
Research summary
Liver disease is the fastest growing cause of death in under 65 year olds. The main causes are alcohol, fatty liver disease and Hepatitis C virus (HCV). Hepatitis C is now very easy to treat and there is a global health strategy (from the World Health Organisation) to eliminate viral hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030, and the UK has set a target of 2025.
In order to reach elimination, it is imperative that the exact prevalence of the disease is known. The major risk factor for HCV is a history of injecting drug use, and a great deal of work has been done looking at HCV in people who inject psychoactive drugs. However, there is very little known about HCV in people who use performance and image enhancing drugs (PIEDs). The data that is available shows a wide range of prevalence (from 0-20%) and the true prevalence will have a significant impact for the methods of case finding for HCV cases being employed.
Within the population who use PIEDs, there is little known about their other risk factors associated with liver disease. There is evidence that PIEDs can be linked to toxin associated fatty liver disease, but there is limited information about this and the associated degree of fibrosis.
The number of people using PIEDs is increasing rapidly and it is therefore essential that the associated liver complications are understood so they can be monitored for and addressed early.
The research will be performed by using a combination of interviews, questionnaires (performed in person), blood tests, body measurements and a simple liver scan. Not all participants will need to be involved in all parts of the research.REC name
London - Stanmore Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/LO/1935
Date of REC Opinion
15 Oct 2020
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion