Author(s): MELECA, V., Institution: UNIVERSITY OF PAVIA , Country: ITALY, Abstract-ID: 638

INTRODUCTION:
Motorsport exposes athletes to extreme physiological, thermal, and cognitive stressors. Hydration is crucial for performance, safety, and thermoregulation in motorsport athletes; however, it remains largely neglected in scientific research compared with other sports. PubMed is the most widely used biomedical search engine and provides a robust framework for analyzing hydration and its physiological and performance-related implications in athletes. The present study aimed to assess how hydration in motorsport athletes has been investigated in PubMed-indexed literature and to highlight existing gaps in scientific evidence.
METHODS:
A systematic research was performed using a pre-specified string targeting hydration in motorsport athletes: (("motorsport"[tiab] OR "motor sport"[tiab] OR "auto racing"[tiab] OR "car racing"[tiab] OR "motorcycle racing"[tiab] OR "Formula 1"[tiab] OR F1[tiab] OR rally[tiab] OR motocross[tiab] OR enduro[tiab] OR karting[tiab] OR "track racing"[tiab] OR "circuit racing"[tiab]) AND (driver[tiab] OR pilot[tiab] OR racer[tiab] OR competitor[tiab] OR participant[tiab]) AND (dehydration[tiab] OR hypohydration[tiab] OR hydration[tiab] OR rehydration[tiab] OR "fluid loss"[tiab] OR "body mass loss"[tiab] OR "water loss"[tiab] OR "sweat loss"[tiab] OR sweating[tiab] OR "sweat rate"[tiab] OR "electrolyte loss"[tiab] OR hyperthermia[tiab] OR "heat stress"[tiab] OR "heat strain"[tiab])). Only English-language articles published within the last 25 years were considered eligible, regardless of their study design or whether they involved professional or amateur athletes in real or simulated competitions.
RESULTS:
The PubMed search identified only twelve studies. After title and abstract screening, five articles were excluded for not meeting the inclusion criteria. Seven studies were consequently included in the final analysis: two literature reviews, three non-controlled clinical trials and two controlled clinical trials. All included studies were assessed in full text to confirm their eligibility. These articles investigated hydration status, dehydration, sweat loss, and fluid intake strategies in professional and amateur motorsport athletes during real-world racing events or simulated race-driving conditions.
CONCLUSION:
This systematic review provides the first robust assessment of hydration status among motorsport athletes, highlighting the scarcity of available evidence in this population. Overall, limited data on PubMed-indexed literature may be due to a relatively small and heterogeneous population of motorsport athletes, as well as structural and administrative barriers related to team-based competition that may limit comparative studies. The heterogeneity in the design and content of the analyzed studies, which is a consequence of the limited number of hydration-related articles available on PubMed, is a limitation of this review More research is needed to fill in knowledge gaps among motorsport athletes.