WADA publishes data supporting a deterrent effect of testing

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is pleased to share positive insights from a study it recently published examining the impact of anti-doping testing on rates of Adverse Analytical Findings (AAFs). As part of its strategy to leverage data to enable more informed decision making across different areas of activity, this work focused on the impact of testing and the use of the Athlete Biological Passport (ABP) on the rates of AAFs for Erythropoietin (EPO) Receptor Agonists (ERAs).  

This study showed that the majority of ERA AAFs occurred on the first sample ever collected for an athlete and that the AAF rates continue to decrease as athletes are further tested. It also showed that the majority of ERA AAFs occur in samples collected in competition (as opposed to out of competition).  

“This was a surprising finding” said Dr. Reid Aikin, Associate Director of the ABP program at WADA and co-author of the study.  “We often think of the scenario where an athlete uses EPO in the leadup to a competition, but then allows a sufficient washout period prior to the competition in order to avoid testing positive. However, an athlete who has never been tested before has a much lower perceived risk of being caught than an athlete tested regularly, and so the same assumptions do not apply.”  

This work also demonstrated a positive impact on the use of the ABP to direct ERA testing, with up to a sixfold increase in the rates of ERA AAFs for endurance athletes that are included in the ABP compared to those who are not. 

“These findings suggest that the act of being tested, even once, has a deterrent effect on doping,” added Tristan Equey, ABP Analyst at WADA and co-author of the study. “And for those athletes who still choose to dope, the ABP is a helpful tool to flag these cases and target ERA analyses.”  

Because ERA analysis is costly and time consuming, it is not applied systematically on all samples. Instead, the decision to carry out an ERA analysis is driven by an anti-doping organization’s (ADO’s) overall testing strategy, which is predicated on a risk assessment of their athlete population, and the ABP. 

“This type of work provides a fresh perspective for ADOs to analyze their own anti-doping data and possibly adjust the way they are distributing ERA analyses. While our findings focus on ERA doping, a similar approach could be applied to other substances such as anabolic androgenic steroids,” added Dr. Norbert Baume, Senior Manager ABP, and co-author on the study. 

Dr. Aikin added: “We hope these findings shift the narrative away from using increasing rates of positivity as a measure of success in anti-doping, given the ultimate goal is to decrease the rates by deterring athletes from doping in the first place. For athletes who are not deterred by testing, we will continue to develop approaches like the ABP to provide robust detection of doping.”   

More information on the ABP can be found here.