Prevalence of Prohibited Substance Use and Methods by Female Athletes: Evidence of Gender-Related Differences
To achieve optimal sports performances, women and men may show specific doping practices because of the physiological and psychological gender differences, but there are few data on this topic. Here, we report the apparent use of prohibited substances and methods by female athletes based on analyses...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-05-01
|
| Series: | Frontiers in Sports and Active Living |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fspor.2022.839976/full |
| _version_ | 1811255519173672960 |
|---|---|
| author | Katia Collomp Katia Collomp Katia Collomp Magnus Ericsson Nathan Bernier Nathan Bernier Corinne Buisson |
| author_facet | Katia Collomp Katia Collomp Katia Collomp Magnus Ericsson Nathan Bernier Nathan Bernier Corinne Buisson |
| author_sort | Katia Collomp |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | To achieve optimal sports performances, women and men may show specific doping practices because of the physiological and psychological gender differences, but there are few data on this topic. Here, we report the apparent use of prohibited substances and methods by female athletes based on analyses of the doping tests collected by the French Anti-Doping Agency from 2013 to 2019. We compared the frequency of use and the ergogenic and side effects to those of their male counterparts. The results revealed lower use of prohibited substances in female vs. male athletes, with significantly fewer anabolic agents, hormone and metabolic modulators, and cannabinoids. Gender specificity in utilization of substance classes was also shown. Relatively lower use of hormone modulators and cannabinoids and higher use of beta-2 agonists, diuretics and glucocorticoids were found in the woman cohort compared with men cohort, combined with the different choice of substances, possibly because of the altered ergogenic and/or side effects. However, no impact due to gender regarding the sports disciplines was observed, with both women and men showing similar use of anabolic agents, mainly in the anaerobic sports, and EPO and corticoids, mainly in endurance or mixed sports. Further studies are needed to put these French data into a global perspective, comparing uses across countries and exploring possible new developments in the fight against doping in women. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T17:26:02Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-145574c46b1547a6b3116d04135659c0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2624-9367 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T17:26:02Z |
| publishDate | 2022-05-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Sports and Active Living |
| spelling | doaj.art-145574c46b1547a6b3116d04135659c02022-12-22T03:23:18ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Sports and Active Living2624-93672022-05-01410.3389/fspor.2022.839976839976Prevalence of Prohibited Substance Use and Methods by Female Athletes: Evidence of Gender-Related DifferencesKatia Collomp0Katia Collomp1Katia Collomp2Magnus Ericsson3Nathan Bernier4Nathan Bernier5Corinne Buisson6CIAMS, Université d'Orléans, Pôle STAPS, Orléans, FranceCIAMS, Université Paris-Saclay, Faculté des Sciences du Sport, Orsay, FranceLaboratoire AntiDopage Français, LADF, Université Paris-Saclay, Chatenay-Malabry, FranceLaboratoire AntiDopage Français, LADF, Université Paris-Saclay, Chatenay-Malabry, FranceCIAMS, Université d'Orléans, Pôle STAPS, Orléans, FranceCIAMS, Université Paris-Saclay, Faculté des Sciences du Sport, Orsay, FranceLaboratoire AntiDopage Français, LADF, Université Paris-Saclay, Chatenay-Malabry, FranceTo achieve optimal sports performances, women and men may show specific doping practices because of the physiological and psychological gender differences, but there are few data on this topic. Here, we report the apparent use of prohibited substances and methods by female athletes based on analyses of the doping tests collected by the French Anti-Doping Agency from 2013 to 2019. We compared the frequency of use and the ergogenic and side effects to those of their male counterparts. The results revealed lower use of prohibited substances in female vs. male athletes, with significantly fewer anabolic agents, hormone and metabolic modulators, and cannabinoids. Gender specificity in utilization of substance classes was also shown. Relatively lower use of hormone modulators and cannabinoids and higher use of beta-2 agonists, diuretics and glucocorticoids were found in the woman cohort compared with men cohort, combined with the different choice of substances, possibly because of the altered ergogenic and/or side effects. However, no impact due to gender regarding the sports disciplines was observed, with both women and men showing similar use of anabolic agents, mainly in the anaerobic sports, and EPO and corticoids, mainly in endurance or mixed sports. Further studies are needed to put these French data into a global perspective, comparing uses across countries and exploring possible new developments in the fight against doping in women.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fspor.2022.839976/fulldopingwomananabolic agentscannabinoidsbeta-2 agonists |
| spellingShingle | Katia Collomp Katia Collomp Katia Collomp Magnus Ericsson Nathan Bernier Nathan Bernier Corinne Buisson Prevalence of Prohibited Substance Use and Methods by Female Athletes: Evidence of Gender-Related Differences Frontiers in Sports and Active Living doping woman anabolic agents cannabinoids beta-2 agonists |
| title | Prevalence of Prohibited Substance Use and Methods by Female Athletes: Evidence of Gender-Related Differences |
| title_full | Prevalence of Prohibited Substance Use and Methods by Female Athletes: Evidence of Gender-Related Differences |
| title_fullStr | Prevalence of Prohibited Substance Use and Methods by Female Athletes: Evidence of Gender-Related Differences |
| title_full_unstemmed | Prevalence of Prohibited Substance Use and Methods by Female Athletes: Evidence of Gender-Related Differences |
| title_short | Prevalence of Prohibited Substance Use and Methods by Female Athletes: Evidence of Gender-Related Differences |
| title_sort | prevalence of prohibited substance use and methods by female athletes evidence of gender related differences |
| topic | doping woman anabolic agents cannabinoids beta-2 agonists |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fspor.2022.839976/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT katiacollomp prevalenceofprohibitedsubstanceuseandmethodsbyfemaleathletesevidenceofgenderrelateddifferences AT katiacollomp prevalenceofprohibitedsubstanceuseandmethodsbyfemaleathletesevidenceofgenderrelateddifferences AT katiacollomp prevalenceofprohibitedsubstanceuseandmethodsbyfemaleathletesevidenceofgenderrelateddifferences AT magnusericsson prevalenceofprohibitedsubstanceuseandmethodsbyfemaleathletesevidenceofgenderrelateddifferences AT nathanbernier prevalenceofprohibitedsubstanceuseandmethodsbyfemaleathletesevidenceofgenderrelateddifferences AT nathanbernier prevalenceofprohibitedsubstanceuseandmethodsbyfemaleathletesevidenceofgenderrelateddifferences AT corinnebuisson prevalenceofprohibitedsubstanceuseandmethodsbyfemaleathletesevidenceofgenderrelateddifferences |