PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Scientific study suggests an association between physical doping and brain doping

Survey among triathletes finds correlation between consumption of drugs enhancing physical and mental performance

2014-01-13
(Press-News.org) Contact information: Dr. Perikles Simon
simonpe@uni-mainz.de
49-613-139-23586
Johannes Gutenberg Universitaet Mainz
Scientific study suggests an association between physical doping and brain doping Survey among triathletes finds correlation between consumption of drugs enhancing physical and mental performance Physical doping and brain doping apparently often go hand in hand. A study from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) and Eberhard Karls University in Tubingen revealed that people who engage in physical doping often also take drugs for brain doping. The study was the first of its kind to survey simultaneously the two categories of doping and brain doping. Around 3,000 hobby triathletes were anonymously surveyed using a questionnaire at sporting events in Frankfurt, Regensburg, and Wiesbaden. "The results correlated with earlier findings about doping in leisure and popular sports and brain doping in society as a whole. The findings also illustrated for the first time that physical doping and brain doping often go together, at least for recreational triathletes," said Mainz University Professor of Sports Medicine Dr. Dr. Perikles Simon.

The study was carried out using the randomized response technique (RRT), which allows for better estimates of unknown cases in response to sensitive questions. It suggested that 13.0 percent of the athletes surveyed had used illegal and banned substances in the twelve months prior to the survey; 15.1 percent were believed to have engaged in brain doping.

When talking about doping substances, a distinction is made between illicit drugs such as cocaine or heroin and banned substances for physical performance enhancement such as anabolic steroids, EPO, or growth hormones. Brain doping is the use of illegal substances and pharmaceuticals such as illegal amphetamines, modafinil or Ritalin to improve mental performance.

The findings indicate that the estimated proportion of men who dope (13.7 percent) is higher than the proportion of women (8.0 percent). The prevalence of doping also seemed to be higher at the European Championships in Frankfurt than at the other triathlons in Regensburg and Wiesbaden. The competitions involved participants taking part in either a classic Ironman with a 4 kilometer swim, 180 kilometer cycle ride, and 42 kilometer marathon or tackling half of the actual Ironman distance.

In their survey carried out during the 2011 season, the scientists interviewed a total of 2,997 triathlon participants. 2,987 questionnaires (99.7 percent) were returned. The study also examined whether there was a correlation between the use of legal and freely available substances for improving physical and mental performance and the use of illegal and banned substances. This would appear to be the case, as athletes who use legal substances to improve their performance also tend to use illegal substances as well.

Finally, another important finding of the study was the sign of a correlation between physical doping and brain doping, which can be found with both legal and illicit substances. The use of legal substances to enhance physical performance is thus relatively often associated with the consumption of substances to improve mental performance, just as there is a correlation between the use of illicit substances for both doping and brain doping. "This indicates that athletes do not actually take the substances to achieve a specific goal, but may show a certain propensity towards performance enhancing substances," explained Simon. The findings are important to better understand why people take such substances and to be able to provide targeted prevention.

Scientists from the Sports Medicine, Prevention, and Rehabilitation division at the Institute of Sports Science and the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at the University Medical Center of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and from the Department of General Psychology and the Department of Sports Medicine at Eberhard Karls University in Tubingen took part in the study entitled "Associations between physical and cognitive doping – a cross-sectional study in 2.997 triathletes". The study was also carried out in cooperation with the IRONMAN headquarters in Hanau, Germany.

### END


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Viewing macro behaviors of ultra-cold quantum gases through the micro-world

2014-01-13
Viewing macro behaviors of ultra-cold quantum gases through the micro-world In a recent study published in Science researchers have been able to observed, for the first time, the collective spin dynamics of ultra-cold fermions with large ...

Building 'belt' offers cheap, quick repair of earthquake damage

2014-01-13
Building 'belt' offers cheap, quick repair of earthquake damage Four years after the January 2010 earthquake, 145,000 people still remain homeless in Haiti. A cheap and simple technology to repair earthquake damaged buildings – developed at the University of Sheffield ...

Postpartum depression improves with time -- but for many women, depressive symptoms linger

2014-01-13
Postpartum depression improves with time -- but for many women, depressive symptoms linger Up to half of patients develop chronic depression, reports Harvard Review of Psychiatry Philadelphia, Pa. (January 13, 2014) – Research evidence shows that symptoms ...

Towards perfect control of light waves

2014-01-13
Towards perfect control of light waves Detector for the measurement of the waveforms of pulsed laser radiation This news release is available in German. Modern mode-locked lasers are capable of producing extremely short light flashes that ...

No nano-dust danger from facade paint

2014-01-13
No nano-dust danger from facade paint Research into the safety of nanoparticles Five Empa laboratories were involved in the EU «NanoHouse» project, along with four other European research institutes and four industrial ...

Shoulder replacement eases pain, improves motion in rheumatoid arthritis patients, Mayo Study finds

2014-01-13
Shoulder replacement eases pain, improves motion in rheumatoid arthritis patients, Mayo Study finds ROCHESTER, Minn. — Jan. 13, 2014 — Shoulder arthritis is a common problem for rheumatoid arthritis patients: pain and difficulty moving their arms can grow so severe that ...

Multiple myeloma study uncovers genetic diversity within tumors

2014-01-13
Multiple myeloma study uncovers genetic diversity within tumors Subpopulations of cells could have implications for treatment The most comprehensive genetic study to date of the blood cancer multiple myeloma has revealed that the genetic landscape ...

BU study: 1 question may gauge the severity of unhealthy drug and alcohol use

2014-01-13
BU study: 1 question may gauge the severity of unhealthy drug and alcohol use Primary care physicians seeking to determine whether a patient's drug or alcohol use is problematic often have to rely on lengthy questionnaires containing dozens of items with multiple ...

2 players produce destructive cascade of diabetic retinopathy

2014-01-13
2 players produce destructive cascade of diabetic retinopathy Augusta, Ga. - The retina can be bombarded by reactive oxygen species in diabetes, prompting events that destroy healthy blood vessels, form leaky new ones and ruin vision. Now ...

Heart attack survivors paint a complex picture of adhering to medicine

2014-01-13
Heart attack survivors paint a complex picture of adhering to medicine Heart attack survivors of different races and genders are about equally likely to be on medications that reduce the risk of another heart attack and other potentially life-threatening ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Cercus electric stimulation enables cockroach with trajectory control and spatial cognition training

Day-long conference addresses difficult to diagnose lung disease

First-ever cardiogenic shock academy features simulation lab

Thirty-year mystery of dissonance in the “ringing” of black holes explained

Less intensive works best for agricultural soil

Arctic rivers project receives “national champion” designation from frontiers foundation

Computational biology paves the way for new ALS tests

Study offers new hope for babies born with opioid withdrawal syndrome

UT, Volkswagen Group of America celebrate research partnership

New Medicare program could dramatically improve affordability for cancer drugs – if patients enroll

Are ‘zombie’ skin cells harmful or helpful? The answer may be in their shapes

University of Cincinnati Cancer Center presents research at AACR 2025

Head and neck, breast, lung and survivorship studies headline Dana-Farber research at AACR Annual Meeting 2025

AACR: Researchers share promising results from MD Anderson clinical trials

New research explains why our waistlines expand in middle age

Advancements in muon detection: Taishan Antineutrino Observatory's innovative top veto tracker

Chips off the old block

Microvascular decompression combined with nerve combing for atypical trigeminal neuralgia

Cutting the complexity from digital carpentry

Lung immune cell type “quietly” controls inflammation in COVID-19

Fiscal impact of expanded Medicare coverage for GLP-1 receptor agonists to treat obesity

State and sociodemographic trends in US cigarette smoking with future projections

Young adults drive historic decline in smoking

NFCR congratulates Dr. Robert C. Bast, Jr. on receiving the AACR-Daniel D. Von Hoff Award for Outstanding Contributions to Education and Training in Cancer Research

Chimpanzee stem cells offer new insights into early embryonic development

This injected protein-like polymer helps tissues heal after a heart attack

FlexTech inaugural issue launches, pioneering interdisciplinary innovation in flexible technology

In Down syndrome mice, 40Hz light and sound improve cognition, neurogenesis, connectivity

Methyl eugenol: potential to inhibit oxidative stress, address related diseases, and its toxicological effects

A vascularized multilayer chip reveals shear stress-induced angiogenesis in diverse fluid conditions

[Press-News.org] Scientific study suggests an association between physical doping and brain doping
Survey among triathletes finds correlation between consumption of drugs enhancing physical and mental performance