Citation

Zamboni L, Lugoboni F, Zandonai T. Scand. J. Med. Sci. Sports 2019; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Affiliation

Sport Research Centre, Department of Sport Sciences, Miguel Hernández University, Avda. de la Universidad, s/n, 03202, Elche, Spain.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/sms.13540

PMID

31419319

Abstract

It is widely recognised that benzodiazepine abuse can potentially induce addiction. Benzodiazepine addiction among athletes is a new and growing phenomenon that we are encountering among our patients. We describe a case of lormetazepam addiction in a female competitive marathon runner. A 30-year-old female elite athlete developed lormetazepam addiction after increasing her daily benzodiazepine dosage in an attempt to achieve better sleep and enhanced performances during training. She was hospitalised for 7 days to undergo benzodiazepine detoxification. Her lormetazepam daily dosage on admission was 18 vials (20 ml x 18 = 360 ml). This report highlights the risk of athletes becoming addicted to benzodiazepines used to combat insomnia and pain. There is a need for clinical and epidemiological research to investigate the effects of this addiction, with a view to better protecting the health of athletes.

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Language: en

Keywords

Addiction Medicine; Clinical Pharmacology; Drug abuse; Sleep Medicine; Sports