The Use of Dietary Supplements, Stimulants, Medications and Associated Factors among Paddle Tennis Players

Medications for pain and inflammation have increased lately, and dietary supplements and stimulants have increasingly been used to maximize sports performance. They can be harmful to health if they are unnecessary or misused. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence and associated factors of the use of dietary supplements, stimulants, and medications among paddle tennis players in a southern Brazilian city. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 162 paddle players in Tubarão, state of Santa Catarina, Brazil. Estimates of prevalence ratio, Chi-square test, Fisher’s exact and modified Poisson regression for data analysis were performed, at a 95% significance level. The prevalence of use of dietary supplements, stimulants and medications was 69.1%, 21% and 63.6%, respectively. Statistically significant associations were found between dietary supplements and age (P = 0.029), and dietary supplements and alcohol abuse (P ≤ 0.001), between medication use and alcohol abuse (P ≤ 0.001), and medication use and smoker (P = 0.030). The study concluded that paddle players showed a high prevalence of use of dietary supplements and medications. Educational programs with information about the efficacy of supplements and medications should be implemented in sites where sports are practiced