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(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Some kids are willing to do anything to excel in sports. A new study reports more than one in 100 11-year-olds admit to using performance enhancing drugs to do better in sports.
Of the 11-year-olds who admitted to using doping agents, 62 percent of them used the drugs less than once per month. However, by age 15 the same proportion was using performance enhancing drugs at least once a week, and 24 percent of the 15 year olds admitted to using them daily. The proportion taking the drugs had also increased from 1.2 to 3 percent by age 15.
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Forty-four percent of the children surveyed said they won at least one sporting event due to using the drugs. The study, performed in France and published online in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, reveals survey answers for 3,500 11-year-olds entering their first year of secondary school in 2001. The authors asked the children about their use of drugs banned under the World Anti-Doping Agency International Standard, but they allowed use of any of the drugs for a medical condition.
The questionnaires, filled out by students every six months, featured questions about their use of doping agents, tobacco, alcohol and cannabis. They were also asked about their involvement in sports and assessed self-esteem and anxiety. The most commonly used drug was salbutamol, used by 45 percent of children hoping to improve sporting ability. Corticosteroids were taken by 10 percent of the students. Although both salbutamol and corticosteroids were on the prohibited list, an athlete with asthma can get a therapeutic exemption. Using those drugs for asthma is not considered doping. However, the questionnaires specified the distinction so the children would understand the difference in uses. Thirty-eight percent of students admitted to using other stimulants and anabolic agents. Four percent of users experienced health problems including becoming violent, losing consciousness and changing to the voice.
"Young athletes who are tempted to use doping agents are more likely to be boys, invest much more time in training, are ready users of psychoactive substances, and, importantly, they appear to be in some distress. Furthermore, at least six months previously they have said they had been tempted to try a prohibited drug. Adults responsible for young people should be alerted by these signs," the authors were quoted as saying.
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, which offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, click on: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.
SOURCE: British Journal of Sports Medicine, published online June 20, 2007
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