Mortality of French Participants in the Tour de France (1947–2012) X Jouven,M Tafflet,E Marijon,J Antero-Jacquemin,N El Helou,G Berthelot, N Combes, W Bougouin, G Rey, D Celermajer, JF Toussaint
Disclosure triathlon
Known benefit of moderate exercise vs. danger of overexercise, doping, accident… The effort involved has been compared to "running a marathon several days a week for nearly three weeks", while the total elevation of the climbs was compared to "climbing three Everests”. Coyle D. What He’s Been Pedaling. The New York Times, 2006 Jul 16
Background • The Tour de France has been the subject of many controversies because of exposure to performance enhancing techniques, in the past and still recently, described as potentially promoting an increase in mortality
786 participants • 786 first participations in the race (30% of the total participants) – mean of 2.5 participations/cyclist Total number of participants % of French participants Number of new French participants
Results • 208 deaths by Sept. 2012 • 41% lower mortality compared to the general population of same age with a SMR of 0.59, 95% CI, 0.51–0.68, P <0.0001 • Considering the 1947–1951 (>60% of deaths), we may estimate an additional longevity about 6 years
Results • Consistency by age, period, and cause of death •
Results • Consistency by causes of death, exept external (traumatic) causes
Conclusions • Substantially and significantly lower mortality in French participants in the Tour de France, compared to the general male population • Our results do not allow a detailed assessment of the balance between positive effects of high level sports activity and selection of healthy elite athletes, versus any potential deleterious effects of excessive physical exercise or alleged doping
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