Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory use in the XV Pan-American Games (2007).
BACKGROUND
non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are frequently used in sports medicine to reduce time of incapacity.


OBJECTIVE
to describe the frequency of NSAIDs use by athletes in the XV Pan-American Games.


METHODS
all athletes who were tested by the anti-doping control filled a form. The voluntarily declared medications were recorded and categorised according to sport modality, sex, region and control situation according to the World Anti-Doping Agency.


RESULTS
among the 1261 athletes tested (231 out-competition (OC) and 1030 in-competition (IC); 733 men and 528 women), 63% reported use of drugs, NSAIDs being the most frequently (64% of users) used medications. The use of medications was not significantly different between sexes or among different regions of the world. The number of users of only one type of NSAID was higher than those who used more than one type of NSAIDs or a combination with analgesics (335 vs 168 cases). IC reports presented higher use of NSAIDs than OC.


CONCLUSIONS
athletes tested by the anti-doping control of the XV Pan-American Games reported a high frequency of NSAIDs use. The frequent utilisation in competition suggests that these medications might be used as ergogenic aid.
Da Silva
E R
ER
Grupo de Pesquisa em Atividades Aquáticas e Terrestres (GPAT), Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil. edurramos@gmail.com
De Rose
E H
EH
Ribeiro
J P
JP
Sampedro
L B R
LB
Devos
D V
DV
Ferreira
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AO
Kruel
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LF
D000328:Adult; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D054874:Athletic Performance / Q000502:physiology; D004300:Doping in Sports; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010146:Pain / Q000517:prevention & control; D013177:Sports / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult
D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal