The anti-doping hot-line, a means to capture the abuse of doping agents in the Swedish society and a new service function in clinical pharmacology.

Eur J Clin Pharmacol. 2003 Nov;59(8-9):571-7. Epub 2003 Sep 12.

The anti-doping hot-line, a means to capture the abuse of doping agents in the
Swedish society and a new service function in clinical pharmacology.

Eklöf AC, Thurelius AM, Garle M, Rane A, Sjöqvist F.

Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Huddinge University Hospital, 14185
Stockholm, Sweden.

With the support of the Swedish National Institute of Health a national
information service was started in 1993 aiming to capture the abuse of doping
agents in the general public. It was organized as a telephone service, called the
Anti-Doping Hot-Line, from our department and managed by trained nurses
co-operating with clinical pharmacologists. Important information collected about
all callers (anonymous) was: date of call, its origin, category of caller, doping
experience and main question being asked. Abusers were asked about their age,
sex, affiliation, abused drug(s), duration of abuse, habit of administration and
adverse reactions (ADRs). Between October 1993 and December 2000 25,835 calls
were received with a peak during spring and autumn. Most calls (12,400) came from
non-abusers, 60% being males. Callers connected with gyms represented the largest
group (30%). Most calls about specific drugs concerned anabolic androgenic
steroids (AAS). Other drugs or products included ephedrine, clenbuterol and
creatine. The most commonly abused anabolic steroids were testosterone,
nandrolone-decanoate, methandienone and stanozolol. The ten most commonly
reported ADRs of AAS were aggressiveness (835), depression (829), acne (770),
gynecomastia (637), anxiousness (637), potency problems (413), testicular atrophy
(404), sleep disorders (328), fluid retention (318) and mood disturbances (302).
Female side effects included menstruation disturbances, hair growth in the face,
lower voice and enlarged clitoris. During the period 1996-200, totally 4339
persons reported about 10,800 side effects. This figure should be compared with
the very low number of ADRs (27) reported by prescribers to the Swedish ADR
committee during the same period. Abuse of doping agents appears to be a new
public health problem that needs detection, medical care and prevention.