Arrhythmias & electrophysiologyCohort study
Mortality in male bodybuilding athletes
- Retrospective cohort study
- international
- standardised web-search for deaths
Study context
- Population
- Male athletes competing in IFBB competitions 2005–2020, follow-up through July 2023730 IFBB events
- Participants
- 20,286 athletes
- Exposure
- Professional vs amateur bodybuilders
- Outcome
- Mortality risk
- Follow-up
- Mean 8.1 ± 3.8 years
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Mortality
- Deaths
- 121
- Sudden deaths
- 73
- Sudden cardiac deaths (SCD)
- 46
- SCD in currently competing athletes (mean age 34.7 ± 6.1 years)
- 11
- SCD incidence in currently competing athletes
- 32.83 cases per 100 000 athlete-years
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
| Outcome | HR (CI) | |
|---|---|---|
| SCD risk, professional vs amateur | 5.23 (3.58–7.64) | |
| 0.10.31310Hazard ratio (log scale) |
Autopsy findings in SCD cases
- Available autopsies consistently showed cardiomegaly and ventricular hypertrophy
Original publication
Mortality in male bodybuilding athletes. Eur Heart J. Published 20 May 2025. doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehaf285
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it