Identification of the factors Related to Doping among High School and University Students and the Evaluation of Their Knowledge about the Related Side Effects

Using ergogenic drugs may cause health problems for students. Providing knowledge about the side effects may prevent students from consuming them. The objective of this study was to determine the incidence of the doping and the consumers’ knowledge about the related side effects. About 6000 out of 55000 students with mean age of 16.6±1.3 years were selected. A reliable questionnaire (r=0.81) measured the knowledge and the consumption of the ergogenic drugs. Spearman correlation technique was used to analyze the data. Results showed that 12.3% of the studied population was involved with the consumption of ergogenic drugs: 56.26% not knowledgeable, 22.25% hardly knowledgeable and 0.85% sufficiently knowledgeable about the related side effects. Body builders were recognized as most and badminton players as fewest doping users. Consumption of the ergogenic drugs was related to the type of sport they performed, quality of their success in education and their parents’ education. It is highly recommended to educate students on doping side effects.