title: Dietary supplement and drug use and doping knowledge and attitudes in Italian young elite cyclists.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explore use and attitudes toward drugs and dietary supplements (DS) and knowledge concerning doping in cycling.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective cross-sectional study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Professional cycling.
  
  
  METHODS
  Elite under-23 male cyclists.
  
  
  METHODS
  Anonymous semistructured questionnaire administered during race periods.
  
  
  METHODS
  Use and attitudes toward DS and drugs, and doping knowledge.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Forty cyclists aged 19 to 23 years and practicing for 14 to 30 h/wk were interviewed. Previous use (last 3 months) of drugs or DS occurred in 33 of 40 (82.5%) and 39 of 40 (97.5%) cyclists, respectively. Almost all the subjects named at least 1 doping agent (range, 1-10). Within a fixed list of 18 substances (among which only 14 were doping agents), participants recognized 3 to 18 of them as doping agents. They recognized tramadol and sildenafil as doping agents, which are not doping agents, and failed to recognize probenecid and albumin, which actually are. Doping knowledge correlated with drug use (r2 = 0.1614; P = 0.01). Participants deemed doping prevalence high among cyclists in general but not in their own team (P < 0.0001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Use of prescription drugs and DS was a common occurrence. Doping knowledge was poor and biased, and its relationship with drug use deserves consideration. Educational interventions are needed to improve knowledge and awareness about prescription drugs and DS use, as well as about doping.
authors.affiliation: Center for Research in Medical Pharmacology, University of Insubria, Varese, Italy.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Loraschi
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Galli
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cosentino
mesh_terms: D001642:Bicycling; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D004300:Doping in Sports; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D057226:Information Seeking Behavior; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D009790:Occupations; D058573:Performance-Enhancing Substances / Q000627:therapeutic use; D055553:Prescription Drugs / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D058573:Performance-Enhancing Substances; D055553:Prescription Drugs