The Impact of Hyperthecosis on Sporting Performance of Female Players

Abstract

Testosterone is an anabolic hormone that increases muscle mass and strength, stimulates erythropoiesis, promotes competitive behavior and enhances the sporting performance of female athletes. A comparative study was designed on forty female athletes who were selected from the three public and private sector universities of Lahore, they had been diagnosed with HTC by a qualified gynecologist based on clinical features and lab tests. At the same time, a healthy group of female athletes (n=40) was selected from participants of the same population and having regular menses and showed no clinical features of HTC. The main objectives of the study included: 1) to compare both the groups of female athletes on clinical features of HTC, and 2) to compare both the groups on self-perceived sports performance. Data collection was done using two different instruments involving the “Hyperthecosis Questionnaire (HTCQ)” and “Athlete’s Subjective Performance Scale (ASPS)”. Data analyses involved descriptive analysis followed by an “Independent Sample t test’ to compare the physical and psychological impact of HTC and ANOVA was applied to analyze the impact of HTC on sports performance. There were significant differences between female athletes with HTC and those with Non-HTC on physical and psychological conditions. It can be concluded that female athletes with HTC were more concerned about their physical and psychological conditions. Moreover, their sporting performance was statistically significantly higher than Non-HTC athletes, which is attributed to higher energy levels caused by HTC itself.