Use of pharmaceuticals amongst athletes tested by Anti-Doping Norway in a five-year period
IntroductionThe aim of the study was to map the use of pharmaceuticals by Norwegian athletes registered on doping control forms (DCFs) in a five-year period to examine general and some class specific use of pharmaceuticals across sports and athlete levels.MethodAnonymous data from DCFs collected in...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-10-01
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Series: | Frontiers in Sports and Active Living |
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Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fspor.2023.1260806/full |
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author | Astrid Gjelstad Astrid Gjelstad Tine Marie Herlofsen Anne-Linn Bjerke Fredrik Lauritzen Ingunn Björnsdottir |
author_facet | Astrid Gjelstad Astrid Gjelstad Tine Marie Herlofsen Anne-Linn Bjerke Fredrik Lauritzen Ingunn Björnsdottir |
author_sort | Astrid Gjelstad |
collection | DOAJ |
description | IntroductionThe aim of the study was to map the use of pharmaceuticals by Norwegian athletes registered on doping control forms (DCFs) in a five-year period to examine general and some class specific use of pharmaceuticals across sports and athlete levels.MethodAnonymous data from DCFs collected in 2015-2019 were manually entered into a database using the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) system for classification of the pharmaceuticals. Variables entered were year of control, gender, age group, athlete level, sport, test type, nationality, and pharmaceuticals (and dietary supplements) used.ResultsPain killers in the ATC groups M01 A (Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs - NSAIDs) and N02 B (other analgesics), and anti-asthmatics in ATC groups R03 A and R03 B were the most frequently used pharmaceuticals. National level athletes reported more use of pharmaceuticals (1.4 ± 1.7 pharmaceuticals per form) than recreational level athletes (0.9 ± 1.2). The highest proportion of DCFs containing information about at least one pharmaceutical were found in speed skating (79.1%), alpine skiing (74.0%), rowing (72.4%) and cross-country skiing (71.7%). Painkillers were most frequently used in muscular endurance sports (30.4% and 21.2 % for M01A and N02 B, respectively) and ball and team sports (17.9% and 17.0%). Use of hypnotics was reported from ice-hockey players and alpine skiers in around 8% of the cases.CoclusionUse of anti-asthmatics was most often reported amongst athletes specially exposed to cold, chemicals and heavy endurance training. Athletes in specialized sports requiring high levels of strength and/or endurance reported a higher use of pharmaceuticals out-of-competition compared to in-competition, while there was no such difference in complex sports, such as team, gymnastic, aiming and combat sports. |
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issn | 2624-9367 |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-03-11T19:59:36Z |
publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
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series | Frontiers in Sports and Active Living |
spelling | doaj.art-859d8e50def746bdbcbc7b335e96aeeb2023-10-04T09:39:24ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Sports and Active Living2624-93672023-10-01510.3389/fspor.2023.12608061260806Use of pharmaceuticals amongst athletes tested by Anti-Doping Norway in a five-year periodAstrid Gjelstad0Astrid Gjelstad1Tine Marie Herlofsen2Anne-Linn Bjerke3Fredrik Lauritzen4Ingunn Björnsdottir5Science and Medicine, Anti-Doping Norway, Oslo, NorwayDepartment of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, University of Oslo, Oslo, NorwayDepartment of Pharmaceutics and Social Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, University of Oslo, Oslo, NorwayDepartment of Pharmaceutics and Social Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, University of Oslo, Oslo, NorwayScience and Medicine, Anti-Doping Norway, Oslo, NorwayDepartment of Pharmaceutics and Social Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, University of Oslo, Oslo, NorwayIntroductionThe aim of the study was to map the use of pharmaceuticals by Norwegian athletes registered on doping control forms (DCFs) in a five-year period to examine general and some class specific use of pharmaceuticals across sports and athlete levels.MethodAnonymous data from DCFs collected in 2015-2019 were manually entered into a database using the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) system for classification of the pharmaceuticals. Variables entered were year of control, gender, age group, athlete level, sport, test type, nationality, and pharmaceuticals (and dietary supplements) used.ResultsPain killers in the ATC groups M01 A (Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs - NSAIDs) and N02 B (other analgesics), and anti-asthmatics in ATC groups R03 A and R03 B were the most frequently used pharmaceuticals. National level athletes reported more use of pharmaceuticals (1.4 ± 1.7 pharmaceuticals per form) than recreational level athletes (0.9 ± 1.2). The highest proportion of DCFs containing information about at least one pharmaceutical were found in speed skating (79.1%), alpine skiing (74.0%), rowing (72.4%) and cross-country skiing (71.7%). Painkillers were most frequently used in muscular endurance sports (30.4% and 21.2 % for M01A and N02 B, respectively) and ball and team sports (17.9% and 17.0%). Use of hypnotics was reported from ice-hockey players and alpine skiers in around 8% of the cases.CoclusionUse of anti-asthmatics was most often reported amongst athletes specially exposed to cold, chemicals and heavy endurance training. Athletes in specialized sports requiring high levels of strength and/or endurance reported a higher use of pharmaceuticals out-of-competition compared to in-competition, while there was no such difference in complex sports, such as team, gymnastic, aiming and combat sports.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fspor.2023.1260806/fullpharmaceuticalssportATC systemdoping control formsanti-doping |
spellingShingle | Astrid Gjelstad Astrid Gjelstad Tine Marie Herlofsen Anne-Linn Bjerke Fredrik Lauritzen Ingunn Björnsdottir Use of pharmaceuticals amongst athletes tested by Anti-Doping Norway in a five-year period Frontiers in Sports and Active Living pharmaceuticals sport ATC system doping control forms anti-doping |
title | Use of pharmaceuticals amongst athletes tested by Anti-Doping Norway in a five-year period |
title_full | Use of pharmaceuticals amongst athletes tested by Anti-Doping Norway in a five-year period |
title_fullStr | Use of pharmaceuticals amongst athletes tested by Anti-Doping Norway in a five-year period |
title_full_unstemmed | Use of pharmaceuticals amongst athletes tested by Anti-Doping Norway in a five-year period |
title_short | Use of pharmaceuticals amongst athletes tested by Anti-Doping Norway in a five-year period |
title_sort | use of pharmaceuticals amongst athletes tested by anti doping norway in a five year period |
topic | pharmaceuticals sport ATC system doping control forms anti-doping |
url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fspor.2023.1260806/full |
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