Fig. 3

Trajectories of red blood cell parameters in different phases of doping use

Phases represent the anamnestic timeline of doping use: 0 = before doping initiation; 1 = during active use; 2 = within three months of cessation; 3 = three to six months after cessation; 4 = later, despite possible continuation of use (patients aged ≤ 40 years); 5 = later, despite possible continuation of use (patients aged > 40 years). Individual patients had one laboratory measurement in each phase, except for phases 1 and 2 (two patients had two measurements) and phases 4 and 5 (one patient had two measurements). If more than one laboratory measurement was available for a phase, the symbol represents the mean value of these. The normal range for each measurement represents the reference range provided by the analyzing laboratory. Measurements of a single individual are connected with a solid line between phases, whenever possible. Patients with anabolic androgenic steroids use: n = 23 (solid diamond symbols/golden lines); Patients with use of only other substances: n = 4 (hollow diamond symbols/purple lines). Abbreviations: Hb = hemoglobin concentration, RBC = erythrocyte count, HCT = hematocrit, MCV = mean corpuscular volume, MCH = mean corpuscular hemoglobin, MCHC = mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration, RDW = red cell distribution width