Retrospective Study on Health Impact of Dietary Protein, Vitamin and Electrolyte Supplementation: A Pilot Study

Aims: Daily use of commercially available protein, multivitamin and electrolyte dietary supplements (MS) is a common practice among athletes. The aim of this study was to identify the effects of MS on athlete’s health.

Study Design: A retrospective cohort, pilot study.

Methodology: This Study was conducted with 45 healthy athletes who were using MS (n=25) and not using MS (n=20). In this study, MS users were consuming protein, multivitamin and electrolyte dietary supplements daily for more than 2 months continuously. Health effects of the study subjects were evaluated by biochemical tests and physical examination by a physician. Study was carried out at the Sri Lanka Anti-Doping Agency, Lanka Hospital Sri Lanka between June 2019 and February 2020.

Results: MS users had shown higher relative risk (RR) to have increased total cholesterol(RR=8.7;P<0.05)and LDL levels(RR=2.9;P<0.05) compared to non-MS users. The RR of overweight was 2.4 higher for MS users males than females. RR to increase weight had varied with type of sport and period on MS.

Conclusion: Negative effect was observed in the Lipid profile and weight of the MS users. Consuming MS more than 2 months, has an increasing effect on the lipid profile and weight of athletes and it is more pronounced in males. The clinical implication of this finding needs further study.