Relationship between Doping Prevalence and Socioeconomic Parameters: An Analysis by Sport Categories and World Areas

Socioeconomic differences between countries, including corruption and doping scandals, have increased in the last few decades. The aims of the current investigation were to examine doping prevalence according to world areas and sport groups and its association with socioeconomic factors worldwide. The Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRVs) of 160 countries competing at 2016 Olympics were analyzed between 2013 and 2018. In addition, the relationship between doping prevalence and socioeconomic characteristics, including Human Development Index (HDI), Per Capita Income (PCI) and Corruption Index (CI), was investigated. Africa, Asia, and America were revealed to have a significantly lower doping prevalence than Europe and Oceania when observing the sum and the mean ADRV/10,000 inhabitants (p < 0.01). Strong to moderate correlations were identified between Corruption Index and ADRVs and HDI and ADRVs (p < 0.01). However, the number of Olympic athletes was positively associated with the ADRVs and the HDI (r = 0.663 and 0.424, respectively). In the comparison by sport groups, the Independent Recognized Sports (AIMS) showed significantly higher Adverse Analytical Findings (AAF) and ADRVs (p < 0.01) than Olympic and Recognized International Sports (ARISF). In conclusion, the results of the current study reveal doping prevalence differences between world areas and sport categories, identifying associations with socioeconomic characteristics of each country.