title: Physician-prescribed medication use by the Finnish Paralympic and Olympic athletes.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Data about medication use by Paralympic athletes (PAs) are limited and no data concerning medication use outside Paralympics exist. The objective of the current study was to compare the use of physician-prescribed medication in PAs and Olympic athletes (OAs).
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional comparative study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Finnish PAs and OAs receiving financial support from the Finnish Olympic and Paralympic committee in 2006 and 2009, respectively.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 92 PAs (response rate, 75.0%; 92 of 123) and 372 OAs (response rate, 91.9%; 372 of 405) participated.
  
  
  METHODS
  Age, sex, and type of athlete (PA vs OA) were included as independent covariates in the logistic regression model analysis.
  
  
  METHODS
  The use of physician-prescribed medication among athletes during the previous 7 days and 12 months.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among the PAs, the use of physician-prescribed medicines (48.9% vs 33.3%; adjusted odds ratio, 1.99; 95% confidence interval, 1.13-3.51), painkillers (2.61; 1.18-5.78), oral antibiotics (4.10; 1.30-12.87), and anti-epileptic medicines (37.09; 5.92-232.31) were more common than among the OAs during the previous 7 days. Paralympic athletes had used significantly less asthma medicines than the OAs during the previous 7 days (4.3% vs 11.0%; adjusted odds ratio, 0.30; 95% confidence interval, 0.10-0.96).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The use of any physician-prescribed medicines, especially those to treat chronic diseases, seems to be more common among the PAs than the OAs. Paralympic athletes use significantly less asthma medicines than OAs.
authors.affiliation: *The Paavo Nurmi Centre Sports & Exercise Medical Unit, Department of Physiology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland; †Department of Pediatric Orthopedic Surgery, Turku University Central Hospital, Turku, Finland; ‡The UKK Institute for Health Promotion Research, Tampere, Finland; §Division of Welfare and Health Promotion, Department of Lifestyle and Participation, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland; and ¶The Finnish Olympic Committee, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Anni
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aavikko
authors.forename: Ilkka
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Helenius
authors.forename: Tommi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Vasankari
authors.forename: Antti
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alaranta
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D056352:Athletes / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004358:Drug Therapy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations