Declaration of analgesics on doping control forms in German football leagues during five seasons

Abstract

Problem: The use of analgesics in sport has been the subject of numerous studies and surveys among athletes for years. This evaluation was targeted at providing the first evaluation of analgesics declared on Doping Control Forms (DCF) from football players in the highest German leagues, the Cup, and the A and B Juniors’ Bundesliga. Methods: The evaluation included a total of 8,344 DCF from doping controls performed by the National Anti Doping Agency Germany in the five football seasons from 2015/16 to 2019/20. This included both in-competition and out-of-competition doping controls in the Bundesliga, 2nd Bundesliga, 3rd League, Women’s Bundesliga, A and B Juniors’ Bundesliga, and the Cup. Results: On average, 33% of all DCF from the last five seasons of the adult and junior sector of the top football leagues in Germany declared use of analgesics within the seven days preceding testing. The A and B Juniors’ Bundesliga has significantly lower values, at an average of 14% ibuprofen was the most commonly reported among 14 analgesic active substances, across all leagues and seasons. Discussion: Some of the analgesic active substances recorded are used for self-medication, while others are prescription drugs. They are not considered doping substances under the current rules of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). However, the calculated frequency of their use suggests that further scienti-fic surveys in competitive sport should be initiated, e.g. via the WADA Monitoring Program. Since analgesics have a general po-tential for abuse, continuous information of athletes, supported by the sports environment, concerning the deliberate use of such medications is required.