Anti-doping Research Articles

The good, the bad, and the ugly: A qualitative secondary analysis into the impact of doping and anti-doping on clean elite athletes in five European countries

ABSTRACT Protecting clean sport, and the rights of athletes to a clean sport environment, is at the centre of anti-doping policies. To better support and enable clean athletes and sport, an understanding of the clean athlete lifeworld is required. The current study explored the ways that clean athletes are personally affected by others’ actual or suspected instances of doping and anti-doping rule violations, and by aspects of the anti-doping system. Qualitative Secondary Analysis (QSA) was used to re-analyse and interpret 13 focus group transcripts generated from the ‘Research-Embedded Strategic Plan for Anti-Doping Education Clean Sport Alliance Initiative for Tackling Doping’ (RESPECT) project (see Petróczi et al., 2021b). The sample in the parent study included 82 self-declared clean elite athletes, from Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Slovenia, and the UK. Reflexive thematic analysis generated three overarching themes: The harm done by clean athletes having to coexist with dopers, how clean athletes are undermined by a disingenuous interest in clean sport, and the anxiety experienced by clean athletes over mistakes that could lead to anti-doping rule violations. The impacts of doping on clean athletes – direct or indirect – are experienced by all clean athletes in some way. The results indicate that current approaches to anti-doping rule compliance frequently undermine clean athletes and the perceived legitimacy of the anti-doping system.

Single-run UHPLC-MS/MS method for simultaneous quantification of endogenous steroids and their phase II metabolites in serum for anti-doping purposes

Anti-doping rule violations related to the abuse of endogenous anabolic androgenic steroids can be currently discovered by the urinary steroidal module of Athlete Biological Passport. Since this powerful tool is still subjected to some limitations due to various confounding factors altering the steroid profile, alternative strategies have been constantly proposed. Among these, the measurement of blood concentrations of endogenous steroid hormones by LC-MS is currently of increasing interest in anti-doping, bringing significant advantages for the detection of testosterone abuse in females and in individuals with deletion of UGT2B17 enzyme. Although various research groups have made significant efforts in method development, there is currently no accepted or harmonized anti-doping method for quantitative analysis of the various testosterone doping markers in blood. In this study we present a UHPLC-MS/MS method for the quantification of major circulating steroid hormones together with an extended panel of glucuro- and sulpho-conjugated phase II metabolites of androgens. Chromatographic setup was optimized by comparing the performance of three different C18 stationary phases and by the careful selection of mobile phases with the aim of separating all the target steroids, including numerous isomeric/isobaric compounds. MS parameters were fine-tuned to obtain the sensitivity needed for measuring the target analytes, that show specific serum concentrations ranging from low pg/mL for less abundant compounds to μg/mL for sulpho-conjugated steroids. Finally, sample preparation protocol was developed for the extraction of steroid hormones from 200 μL of serum and the performance was evaluated in terms of extraction recovery and matrix effect. The final method was then applied to authentic serum samples collected from healthy volunteers (40 males and 40 females) at the Blood Bank of the City of Health and Science University Hospital of Turin. The analysis of these samples allowed to obtain results on serum concentrations of the targeted steroids, with particular emphasis on previously undiscovered phase II metabolites, such as the isomers of 5-androstane-3,17-diol glucuronide. This preliminary application also enabled measuring dihydrotestosterone sulphate in male samples, efficiently separating this analyte from its isomer, epiandrosterone sulphate, which circulates in blood at high concentrations.The promising results of this study are encouraging for the measurement of blood steroid profile markers in serum and plasma samples for Athlete Biological Passport purposes.

Doping – problem nieświadomego społeczeństwa i polityki międzynarodowej państw

The definition of doping in the World Anti-Doping Code is an important instrument of international politics. While implications are obvious for the professional athletes participating in Olympic Games, they remain vague for the broader society – the followers of the Olympic struggles. The article is an attempt to indicate the problem faced by society, international institutions and states, trying to pursue an effective anti-doping policy. It presents a comprehensive description of one of the largest doping scandals with the participation of the Russian authorities in 2013–2014 and the results of the author’s research on society’s knowledge of doping in sports. Public awareness of banned substances and methods may turn out to be crucial while assessing the actions of governments and international institutions. Society may have insufficient knowledge about doping and may be unaware of its role in politics on an international scale. An ani-doping policy is a part of state policy, so it impacts the way of benefiting physical culture which is one of the areas creating the public sector.

The potential usage of thyroid hormones as sport doping - a mini-review

A thyroid gland is one of the most important organs of a human body. Thyroid hormones, at least in physiological concentration, have anabolic features. The aid of this review is to summarize knowledge on potential usage of thyroid hormones in sport doping.
 Thyroid hormones play a crucial role in skeletal muscles physiology. The exposition to T3 and T4 may improve myogenesis, muscles regeneration and muscles blood blow. In a long-time perspective, those hormones may help in reducing body weight.
 According to those mechanisms, thyroid hormones may be considered as a plausible agent in sport doping. However WADA guidelines does not include T3 or T4 in a list o sport doping substances, the debate on their inclusion is on-going, and the physicians should be aware of thyroid hormones effects on human metabolism from sports medicine perspective.

The Power of Keratinous Matrices (Head Hair, Body Hair, Nail Clippings) Analysis in a Fatal Intoxication Involving Anabolic Agents.

A 29-year-old man with no previous medical history was found dead at home. Anabolic products (tablets and oily solutions) and syringes were found at the scene. The man was known to train regularly at a fitness club and to use anabolic drugs. Following an unremarkable autopsy with normal histology, toxicological analyses were requested by the local prosecutor to provide further information. Blood, head hair (5 cm, black), body hair (axillary and leg), and toe and finger nail clippings were submitted to LC and GC-MS-MS methods to test for anabolic steroids. Blood tested positive for testosterone (4 ng/mL), boldenone (26 ng/mL), stanozolol (3 ng/mL) and trenbolone (< 1 ng/mL). Segmental head hair tests (2 x 2.5 cm) revealed a repeated consumption of testosterone (65-72 pg/mg), testosterone propionate (930-691 pg/mg), testosterone isocaproate (79 pg/mg-< 5 pg/mg), nandrolone decanoate (202-64 pg/mg), boldenone (16 pg/mg), stanozolol (575-670 pg/mg), trenbolone (4 pg/mg-not detected), drostanolone (112-30 pg/mg), drostanolone enanthate (26-5 pg/mg) and drostanolone propionate (15-4 pg/mg). In addition to the substances identified in head hair, testosterone decanoate, testosterone cypionate and nandrolone were identified in both body hair and nails. The experts concluded that the manner of death can be listed as toxic, due to massive repetitive use of anabolic steroids during the previous months. For anabolic agents, blood does not seem to be the best matrix to document a fatal intoxication. Indeed, these products are toxics when long term abused and are known to cause cardiac, hepatic and renal diseases. When compared to blood, hair and nails have a much larger window of detection. Therefore, keratinous matrices seems to be the best approach to test for anabolic steroids when a sudden death is observed in a context of possible abuse of steroids.

Wiecznie przegrani. O dopingu w sporcie

The article presents problem of the doping in sport. It analyzes the factors of this phenomenon on the basis of specific events in the XX and XXI century. For many athletes win in competitive sports is the primary motivation therefore they resort to doping. The benefits of winning were used by political regime in cold war stage, it was dependent on the development of doping. Today elite athletes can earn big money by winning major sports tournaments, it’s the effect of commercialization and mediatization. How big a problem is doping in modern sport? This article tries to answer this question.

Challenges associated with implementing anti-doping policy and programs in Africa.

Concerns regarding the capability of the International Olympic Committee to address doping in sport catalyzed the formation of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in 1999. In its establishment phase, WADA sought geopolitical legitimacy and support from governments (including non-Western states) for financing and acceptance. Africa was not considered during WADA's creation, relegating African states to a passive role in the global anti-doping program, and yet is still subject to the strict compliance requirements for WADA's global policy. African countries face challenges establishing anti-doping support structures and implementing the universal policy, including competing macro-level policy demands that favor addressing legacies of colonialism and human capacity development. To develop robust anti-doping support structures, African nations must spearhead anti-doping initiatives by leveraging existing infrastructure and encouraging collaborations between NADOs such that capacity can be built for policy implementation.

Doping in Recreational Sport as a Risk Management Strategy

Knowledge about the prevalence of doping in recreational sports is still limited and fragmented. The same holds true for explanations of doping prevalence rates among different groups. One of the few theoretical models that exists uses the concept of consumer capital based on Stigler and Becker’s theory of rational addiction. Building on the largest study on doping in recreational sports that has ever been conducted in Europe, the FAIR+ survey, hypotheses on the differences in doping prevalence rates, by the level of participation in competitions and by the relative time spent participating in the sport are, developed. Statistical tests support the model while also drawing attention to the limitations of this theoretical explanation.

Unfair, Innocent, Flamed: Examining How the Chinese Public Perceived Sun Yang’s 8-Year Doping Sanction

International sport has always been associated with nationalism. The purpose of the study was to explore how Chinese media and the general public perceived the doping scandal of their national sports hero, Sun Yang. Through analyzing 11 Chinese media outlets’ coverage on Chinese social media Weibo, the results revealed that Chinese media covered Sun and his team’s reaction and perspectives on this issue more when compared with other news. The general public’s perceptions toward this scandal tended to be favorable toward Sun, with 55.5% of selected Weibo comments defending Sun after his 8-year ban for doping was handed down. The analysis of these social media comments posted by sports fans showed that the general public’s perceptions might have been impacted by their nationalism, international relations, and media coverage. In addition, the study revealed the Chinese public’s perceptions toward current antidoping regulations.

Life after doping: do the consequences of an anti-doping rule violation threaten athletes’ health? Design and development of an interview guide for the assessment of biopsychosocial changes following a doping ban

BackgroundWhile multiple facets of doping have been subject to intense research, knowledge about the consequences of sanctions following a doping offence for athletes is limited. From a biopsychosocial perspective, an anti-doping rule violation might have a serious adverse effect on an athlete´s health. To encourage more research on this topic, we developed and tested an interview guide. MethodsFour elite Austrian athletes who had been suspended due to a doping offence first took part in an online brainstorming session on this topic. Based on the existing literature, five fundamental dimensions of life were distinguished: professional and financial situation, mental and psychological well-being, social environment, physical condition, and attitude towards and practice of sport. The participants were asked to report important changes in each dimension. Based on these data, an interview guide was developed. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the same athletes and evaluated using thematic analysis. Results and discussionAll athletes reported significant changes in all five dimensions, particularly in psychological well-being. The interview guide captured these changes in a satisfactory manner. Through a process of communicative validation, the interview guide was shown to be appropriate for further research on this topic. OutlookUsing the interview guide, a larger international sample of athletes will be examined, especially in terms of differences in sport disciplines, achievement levels, doping circumstances, intentionality and socio-demographic factors; such data are essential to develop specific support programs for athletes banned from sport due to a doping offence.

Development of a scale to measure moral disengagement for occupational gains to enhance our understanding of the use of Performance and Image Enhancing Drugs (PIEDs) in the workplaceDevelopment of a scale to measure moral disengagement for occupational gains to enhance our understanding of the use of Performance and Image Enhancing Drugs (PIEDs) in the workplace

Performance and Image Enhancing Drugs (PIEDs) are a cause of concern for those seeking to reduce health harms and associated transgressive behaviour. This form of behaviour is associated with moral disengagement and is collectively used to refer to acts that can have negative interpersonal consequences (Kavussanu, 2019). Moral disengagement (Bandura 1991) refers to cognitive mechanisms that separate our moral values from our actions, resulting in behaviour that conflicts with our moral values. This model has been used to theorise the use of PIEDs for occupational performance gains - for instance, in the police or in private security- with the development of the psychometric Moral Disengagement for Occupational Gains Scale. In this investigation, 84 participants (34 PIED and 50 Non-PIED users) from 10 occupations completed an online questionnaire, shared via social media. The questionnaire was based on an 8-factor model proposed by Bandura et al. (1996), with items adapted from validated scales investigating doping in sport. Twenty items measured the following factors: Moral Justification, Euphemistic Labelling, Advantageous Comparison, Diffusion of Responsibility, Distortion of Consequences and Displacement of Responsibility. Participants completed the questionnaire using a 7-point scale (1 = strongly disagree to 7 = strongly agree). The Moral Disengagement for Occupational Gains Scale (MDOGS) has demonstrated initial psychometric properties that support the use as a valid and reliable measure of moral disengagement for research into the use of PIEDs in an occupational context.

Bioethical-medical aspects of the phenomenon of sports doping

Doping is a global problem at world sporting events of a legal nature, medical and ethical. International sports forums have tried to stop the spread of this scourge, to no avail. Educational programs, tests and medical treatment are expected to reduce substance abuse. New, more powerful and undetectable anti-doping techniques and substances are being abused by professional athletes, and drugs are being distributed through various sophisticated networks. Professional athletes are often role models for adolescents, young people and adults and their behaviours are imitated, including drug abuse. The reanalysis of doping in international sports will be oriented towards better information of the psychiatric specialists and towards an urgent intervention in the treatment of the addiction of substances in sports.

Legal nature of the World anti-doping agency (WADA)

Introduction. The task of the World Anti-Doping Agency, which is the most important organisation for combating doping in sports, is to set standards against doping, including legal standards, and to monitor them. At the same time, this is an organisation that has continually stirred up a great deal of controversy in the doctrine of international law regarding its legal nature since its inception. Problem. There’s an obvious research gap in legal nature and specific features of WADA. This paper would address this gap based on the analysis of the specific construction of WADA, as the latter is internationally recognised as an original and unique piece of international legislation that reflects the intentions of the private and public sectors in sports. The aim of this paper to provide a well-founded conclusion on legal nature of WADA. Methods. Doctrinal legal research to evaluate the genesis of academic thinking on the legal nature of WADA, public and private legal entities, empirical research of international legal framework of WADA, methods of analysis to evaluate specific construction of WADA. Results. World Anti-Doping Agency was established in response to a massive increase in doping cases in the world of sports. It is an independent international private law organisation, whose purpose is primarily to harmonise, monitor and update all legally available methods of combating doping. However, as shown at least by the structure of the Agency itself and its influence on the anti-doping policies of individual States and international organisations and sports federations, which after all represent States, it can be considered as an institution of a hybrid form. Conclusion. Due to the special structure and role of WADA, its regulations are formally situated in the realm of private law. But at the same time they are legitimised through provisions of the rank of international law acts, which provide a legal framework for them. Thus, the norms of a public-legal nature concerning doping, anti-doping and disciplinary responsibility for doping are de facto secondary to norms of a private-legal nature. WADA itself can be considered a global model for setting standards for other entities operating in sports.

Presence of higenamine in beetroot containing 'foodstuffs' and the implication for WADA-relevant anti-doping testing.

Higenamine is an alkaloid found within plant species including some that are used in traditional Asian and Chinese herbal medicines. Identified as having mixed mode adrenergic receptor activity, higenamine is present within some nutritional supplements marketed for stimulant and/or weight loss. Its inclusion within nutritional supplements can be via its natural presence within botanical ingredients or as a synthetic additive, often added in mg amounts. The World Anti-doping Agency (WADA) prohibited list has contained higenamine since 2017 as banned at all times in the beta-2 agonist (S3) category, with a reporting level of 10ng/ml for the free parent form in urine. In this study, an investigation into the content of beetroot or beetroot-containing foodstuffs and supplement products was conducted. Higenamine was confirmed as present within the majority of foodstuffs and supplements, with experimental evidence that higenamine can arise within beetroot extracts through heating. The results in this paper demonstrate the first reported evidence of a link between beetroot and this WADA prohibited substance. To investigate the link between intake and excretion, concentrated beetroot drinks were consumed by six individuals and higenamine quantified in their urine. Free higenamine was detected in the urine of all individuals, with maximum measured concentration in samples of less than 1% of the current WADA reporting limit. Although the risk of an inadvertent doping violation by consumption of the foodstuffs and products investigated in this study is low, beetroot as a source of higenamine should be considered by athletes.

Therapeutic Use and Chronic Abuse of CNS Stimulants and Anabolic Drugs.

The available evidence suggests that affective disorders, such as depression and anxiety, increase risk for accelerated cognitive decline and late-life dementia in aging individuals. Behavioral neuropsychology studies also showed that cognitive decline is a central feature of aging impacting the quality of life. Motor deficits are common after traumatic brain injuries and stroke, affect subjective well-being, and are linked with reduced quality of life. Currently, restorative therapies that target the brain directly to restore cognitive and motor tasks in aging and disease are available. However, the very same drugs used for therapeutic purposes are employed by athletes as stimulants either to increase performance for fame and financial rewards or as recreational drugs. Unfortunately, most of these drugs have severe side effects and pose a serious threat to the health of athletes. The use of performance-enhancing drugs by children and teenagers has increased tremendously due to the decrease in the age of players in competitive sports and the availability of various stimulants in many forms and shapes. Thus, doping may cause serious health-threatening conditions including, infertility, subdural hematomas, liver and kidney dysfunction, peripheral edema, cardiac hypertrophy, myocardial ischemia, thrombosis, and cardiovascular disease. In this review, we focus on the impact of doping on psychopathological disorders, cognition, and depression. Occasionally, we also refer to chronic use of therapeutic drugs to increase physical performance and highlight the underlying mechanisms. We conclude that raising awareness on the health risks of doping in sport for all shall promote an increased awareness for healthy lifestyles across all generations.

Steroids misuse and abuse

Steroids misuse and abuse

Проблемы квалификации преступлений, предусмотренных ст. 230.1 и 230.2 Уголовного кодекса Российской Федерации

The relevance of the topic is evidenced by the fact that since introduction of criminal liability for inducing an athlete in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation in 2016 as well as the usage of doping against an athlete, only one person has been convicted for inducing underage athletes to use prohibited substances (p. «b» part 2 of article 2301). At the same time the problem of doping in sports is still very much discussed not only in our country, but all over the world. The subject of the research is the international and Russian anti-doping legislation, the norms of Art. 2301, 2302 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, doctrinal provisions on the topic of this work. The purpose of this work is to analyze Art. 2301 and 2302 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, identifying qualification problems and formulating possible measures to combat doping in sports. The methodological basis of this study is the basic provisions of the dialectical method of cognition, general scientific and private scientific methods, such as comparative legal, concrete sociological, formal logical, systemic and historical. In the course of the work, an empirical study was carried out in the form of a questionnaire. As a result of the study, it was found that the lack of a systematic approach and the disagreements in the scientific community on certain points related to the signs of the offenses under Art. 2301, 2302 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation is one of the reasons that may affect the detection, investigation and disclosure of crimes related to the use of doping in sports.

NONISCHEMIC CARDIOMYOPATHY AND CARDIAC ARREST ATTRIBUTABLE TO ANABOLIC-ANDROGENIC STEROIDS

NONISCHEMIC CARDIOMYOPATHY AND CARDIAC ARREST ATTRIBUTABLE TO ANABOLIC-ANDROGENIC STEROIDS

The Importance of Chemistry in the Control of Doping in Sports during the OlympicsMarcos Aurelio Gomes da Silva

The Importance of Chemistry in the Control of Doping in Sports during the OlympicsMarcos Aurelio Gomes da Silva

Research on Detection of Sterol Doping in Sports by Electrochemical Sensors: A Review.

The use of doping by athletes to improve performance is prohibited. Therefore, doping testing is an important step to ensure fairness in sports. Doping is gradually metabolized in the body and is therefore difficult to detect immediately by a common method. At the same time, the emergence of new doping agents poses a challenge for highly sensitive detection. Electrochemical sensors are a fast, highly sensitive, and inexpensive analytical detection technology. It provides qualitative and quantitative determination of analytes by altering the electrochemical signal of the analyte or probe at the electrode. In this min-review, we summarized the different electrochemical sensing strategies for sterol doping detection. Some of the representative papers were interpreted in detail. In addition, we compare different sensing strategies.