Doping in sport--1. Excretion of 19-norandrosterone by healthy women, including those using contraceptives containing norethisterone

Steroids. 2009 Mar;74(3):329-34. doi: 10.1016/j.steroids.2008.10.008. Epub 2008 Oct 25.

Abstract

19-Norandrosterone (19-NA) is the principal urinary metabolite of the anabolic steroid nandrolone and its prohormones. The administration of these 19-nor androgens is prohibited in sport by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) but, even so, adverse findings for 19-NA continue to be commonly reported. Little is known about the urinary concentrations of 19-NA that can occur in women who are not using anabolic steroids, including those using oral contraceptives containing the 19-nor progestogen norethisterone. In 2004, WADA lowered the reporting threshold for 19-NA for females from 5 to 2ng/mL. The lack of any substantial data on 19-NA excretion in women prompted this large-scale investigation. In this investigation, single untimed urines collected from 1202 female volunteers, 38 of whom were taking norethisterone containing contraceptives, were analysed for 19-NA. None of the women was a competitive athlete and pregnancy had been excluded by a urinary test for human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). Only one sample exceeded the 19-NA reporting threshold having a concentration of 4.1ng/mL. This sample was from a user of a norethisterone-containing contraceptive.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Contraceptive Agents, Female / administration & dosage
  • Contraceptive Agents, Female / urine*
  • Doping in Sports*
  • Estranes / urine*
  • Female
  • Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry
  • Humans
  • Norethindrone / administration & dosage
  • Norethindrone / urine*
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Substance Abuse Detection / methods*
  • Tandem Mass Spectrometry
  • Young Adult

Substances

  • Contraceptive Agents, Female
  • Estranes
  • 19-norandrosterone
  • Norethindrone