The use of drugs and nutritional supplements in top-level track and field athletes.
BACKGROUND
High use of medication and nutritional supplements has been reported in several sports.


OBJECTIVE
To document the use of prescribed medication and nutritional supplements in female and male junior, youth, and adult track and field athletes depending on their sports discipline.


METHODS
Descriptive epidemiology study.


METHODS
Analysis of 3 887 doping control forms undertaken during 12 International Association of Athletics Federations World Championships and 1 out-of-competitions season in track and field.


RESULTS
There were 6 523 nutritional supplements (1.7 per athlete) and 3 237 medications (0.8 per athlete) reported. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs; 0.27 per athlete, n = 884), respiratory drugs (0.21 per athlete, n = 682), and alternative analgesics (0.13, n = 423) were used most frequently. Medication use increased with age (0.33 to 0.87 per athlete) and decreased with increasing duration of the event (from sprints to endurance events; 1.0 to 0.63 per athlete). African and Asian track and field athletes reported using significantly fewer supplements (0.85 vs 1.93 per athlete) and medications (0.41 vs 0.96 per athlete) than athletes from other continents. The final ranking in the championships was unrelated to the quantity of reported medications or supplements taken. Compared with middle-distance and long-distance runners, athletes in power and sprint disciplines reported using more NSAIDs, creatine, and amino acids, and fewer antimicrobial agents.


CONCLUSIONS
The use of NSAIDs in track and field is less than that reported for team-sport events. However, nutritional supplements are used more than twice as often as they are in soccer and other multisport events; this inadvertently increases the risk of positive results of doping tests.


CONCLUSIONS
It is essential that an evidence-based approach to the prescribing of medication and nutritional supplements is adopted to protect the athletes' health and prevent them from testing positive in doping controls.
Tscholl
Philippe
P
Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Medical Assessment and Research Centre (F-MARC), Schulthess Klinik, Zurich, Switzerland. ph.tscholl@sunrise.ch
Alonso
Juan M
JM
Dollé
Gabriel
G
Junge
Astrid
A
Dvorak
Jiri
J
D000596:Amino Acids; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; D054874:Athletic Performance; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003401:Creatine; D019587:Dietary Supplements / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004300:Doping in Sports; D011307:Drug Prescriptions; D016021:Epidemiologic Studies; D005260:Female; D014943:Global Health; D006801:Humans; D038622:Internationality; D008297:Male; D009752:Nutritional Status; D019141:Respiratory System Agents; D014142:Track and Field
D000596:Amino Acids; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; D019141:Respiratory System Agents; D003401:Creatine