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Athletes using Performance enhancing drugs more likely to abuse alcohol

Athletes using Performance enhancing drugs more likely to abuse alcohol According to a new research in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, college athletes using performance enhancing drugs run a greater risk of abusing alcohol and other recreational drugs than those not making a use of them. It was also highlighted that these troubled athletes also run a higher risk of failing tests, getting into fights, and missing classes.

It was remarked by study co-author Dr. Robert J. Pandina, director of the Center of Alcohol Studies at Rutgers University in Piscataway, New Jersey, that these athletes are not only abusing recreational drugs and alcohol but are also suffering from health complications.

From Sciencedaily.com:

In their study, the researchers, led by Dr. Jennifer F. Buckman, assistant research professor at the Center of Alcohol Studies, found that nearly one third of the athletes acknowledged using a performance-enhancing substance in the past year. The list included banned substances like steroids, creatine, “Andro,” stimulants and weight-loss aids.

As a group, athletes who used performance-enhancing substances reported higher rates of drug and alcohol use. Seventy percent said they had used marijuana and one third admitted to cocaine use, versus 22 percent and 3 percent of athletes who did not use performance enhancers. They also had higher rates of smoking, binge drinking and prescription-drug misuse.

The results also hint at some reasons for the elevated rates of drug and alcohol use. Athletes who used performance enhancers were more likely than nonusers to be natural sensation seekers — a desire to have new and varied experiences — but they were also more likely to say they used drugs or alcohol specifically to cope with stress and anxiety.

Pandina was of the view that athletes make use of performance enhancing drugs after seeing the “utilitarian value” of using recreational drugs but may end up falling stressed.