antidoping – SEMS-journal

antidoping

Doping and the Sports Physician’s Role – The Swiss Experience

Sports physicians who take care of both leisure and elite athletes tend to be confronted with doping practices in various facets. The authors of this article aimed to examine attitudes, knowledge and experiences regarding doping practices and anti-doping resources in a specially trained population of board-certified Swiss sport and exercise physicians using a questionnaire.

antidoping depression pharmacology

Psychopharmacological Treatment in Athletes

Pharmacological interventions play a substantial role in the treatment of psychological complaints. However, while psychosocial and psychotherapeutic strategies are preferred for the treatment of mild to moderately severe symptoms, the use of drugs is often indicated for severe clinical manifestations [1,2].

antidoping sports and society doping training

Muscle dysmorphia

The current ideal of beauty consists of a strong shift towards physical activity and aims to develop a muscular, athletic physique. While the athletic ideal for women has been a product of recent years, the muscular ideal for men has been observed since the 1970s. Increasing pressure to achieve this muscular ideal is associated with both body dissatisfaction and a strong desire to increase muscularity. In extreme terms, the pursuit of a muscular body and its associated behaviours, such as strength training and dieting, may lead to the development of muscle dysmorphia.

antidoping coaching elite sports

The fight against doping from the perspective of Swiss athletes and coaches

The fight against doping is not primarily a fight against fallible athletes and coaches but rather a fight for clean athletes and coaches. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate how Swiss athletes and coaches perceive the doping problem and the current anti-doping policy. Two online surveys of 1040 Swiss squad coaches and 588 Swiss athletes of various sports were conducted in 2016 and 2017. 41.5% of athletes and 31.5% of coaches identified a serious doping problem in their sport. This perception varied significantly by sport (p≤0.001). 94.2% of athletes and 91.7% of coaches argued in support of a strict prohibition of doping.

antidoping sports and society

«COOL AND CLEAN»: 10-year outcomes of structural prevention in the Swiss sports setting

The body of evidence on structural prevention is scarce and needs further development. This study contributes to international research by analysing 10-year outcomes of a multicomponent programme promoting a healthy sports setting in Switzerland. Data were collected in 2007, 2011 and 2015, enabling a longitudinal perspective on outcomes. Telephone interviews, case studies, online-surveys and analysis of key documents and data were conducted. The programme «cool and clean» is well known and accepted by key partners. Partnering between the health and the sports sector has improved visibly and cantonal ambassadors are well established.

antidoping

Doping in sports – conscious lack of interest or ethical Everest?

Within a clinical sports medical setting the discussion about doping is insufficient. In elite-sports use of pharmaceutical agents is daily business in order to maintain the expected top-level performance. Unfortunately, a similar development could be observed in the general population of leisure athletes where medical supervision is absent. As a sports physician you are facing imminent ethical questions when standing in between. Therefore, we propose the application of a standardised risk score as a tool to promote doping-prevention and launch the debate within athlete-physician-relationship.

antidoping

“cool and clean”: does prevention of substance abuse work in sport?

There is a strong belief among the general population that sport has positive effects. However, only some preventive effects of sport meet these high expectations. Numerous studies have specifically shown that sport does not protect people from the consumption of legal and illegal drugs such as alcohol, tobacco and cannabis. For this reason, the umbrella organisation of Swiss sports associations (Swiss Olympic), the Federal Office of Sport (FOSPO) and the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) teamed up as early as 2003 and launched the “cool and clean” prevention programme.

antidoping elite sports performance sports and society team management

Risk for a Swiss medical doctor involved in a doping affair

As soon as he prescibes medicine to an athlete, any physician is confrounted if he wants or not, and if he is aware of it or not, with the numerous and often complex rules treating with the universal fight against doping. In case of an involountary mistakee or not, the doctor can be involved in very unpleasant situations over different regulations. As ignorance is no valid defense form, it seems obvious that it is very imporant that each practitionner is informed the better possible about these legal aspects. This is the objective of the following presentation.

antidoping elite sports sports medicine pharmacology sports science monitoring

Challenges with the biological passport: from sampling to interpretation

In 2008, the World Anti-Doping Agency officially launched the biological passport. The first validated module to operate was the blood module to fight erythropoietin (EPO) and blood transfusion abuse. It has been quite efficient to catch some doped athletes, but above all, was very good in reducing the prevalence of doping. It is unclear if athletes stopped doping or have adapted and are taking micro doses of EPO or transfusing small blood volumes. More recently, the steroid module was released, but until now, the number of urine adverse passport cases is very low.

antidoping elite sports monitoring

Retesting the anti-doping samples: Best tool for deterrence?

Long term storage of the anti-doping samples and their reanalyses becomes today more and more a trend in the anti-doping community. The procedure has been implemented by the anti-doping authorities for the samples of the Tour de France and for the Olympic Games since Athens 2004 and has been always presented as a good tool to deter doping habits in top level sport. Recently, the World Anti-Doping Code introduced the possibility for anti-doping organizations to store the athletes’ samples up to ten years.