Background: Regarding increasing and concerning worldwide trends of doping and lack of definite information about contributing factors in this era, this study was performed to determine the frequency of social phobia in athletes with doping history in comparison with general population.

Methods and materials: In this case-control study 30 subjects were enrolled including two groups of professional athletes with doping history and general population. In each group 15 subjects were present. All subjects were interviewed according to DSM-IV criteria. The social phobia was assessed by social phobia inventory (SPIN).

Results: Ten subjects (including 7 men and 3 women) in athletes group and 6 subjects (including 4 men and 2 women) in normal population group had social phobia showing no significant difference between groups (P=0.143). The gender had no effect on having social phobia in none of the groups (P=1.000).

Conclusions: Totally, according to the obtained results in this study, it may be concluded that there is no significant difference between presence of social phobia in athletes with doping history and general population.

Keywords: Athletes, Doping, Social phobia