DOPING
CONTROL
MEDICAL DOCTORS AND DOPING IN
SPORT: ATTITUDES AND EXPERIENCE IN BALKAN REGION
Dikic
Nenad, Ionescu
Anca, Dimitrova Diana, Natsis Konstantinos, Ergen Emin, Suzic Jelena
Balkan Sport Medicine
Association
Introduction. During
the last two Olympic games, 5 athletes from the Balkan Countries lost
medals and 4 athletes have been found to be doping positive
out-of-competition, which included 44% of all positive cases in Sidney
2000, and 20% in Athens 2004.
Objectives. The aim of this
study is to examine attitudes and experience of medical doctors from
Balkan Countries.
Materials
and methods. A total of 219 medical doctors from
Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Serbia and Turkey fulfilled the
questionnaire related to doping issues.
Results. During the
period of 12 months, 80% doctors have been asked for information about
doping agents, 25% of the them have been contacted by athletes for the
prescription of doping agents, 14% of doctors think that they should
assist athletes who want to use doping and in 27% of the cases the
doctors have treated athletes who are using doping due to medical
problems. They believe that education is the most effective method for
fight against doping and the least effective method is two years ban.
They put adolescents and children as a first group which needs to be
targeted in a doping prevention.
Conclusion.
Hypothesis that athletes are not informed about doping because of poor
knowledge of medical doctors is supported. Medical doctors from Balkan
region are confused and controversial, but they recognize the need for
better education and they want to participate in its prevention.
However, although this observation does seem encouraging, their limited
knowledge of doping should prompt the introduction of adequate training
in this domain.
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