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. 2017 Feb;107(2):319-321.
doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2016.303566. Epub 2016 Dec 20.

Anabolic Steroid Misuse Among US Adolescent Boys: Disparities by Sexual Orientation and Race/Ethnicity

Aaron J Blashill  1 , Jerel P Calzo  1 , Scott Griffiths  1 , Stuart B Murray  1
Affiliations

Anabolic Steroid Misuse Among US Adolescent Boys: Disparities by Sexual Orientation and Race/Ethnicity

Aaron J Blashill et al. Am J Public Health. 2017 Feb.

Abstract

Objectives: To examine the prevalence of anabolic steroid misuse among US adolescent boys as a function of sexual orientation and race/ethnicity.

Methods: We analyzed boys from the 2015 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (n = 6248; mean age = 16), a representative sample of US high school students. Lifetime prevalence of anabolic steroid misuse was dichotomized as never versus 1 or more times.

Results: Sexual minority boys reported elevated misuse compared with heterosexual boys, within each level of race/ethnicity. Black, Hispanic, and White sexual minority boys reported misuse at approximately 25%, 20%, and 9%, respectively.

Conclusions: Sexual orientation health disparities in anabolic steroid misuse disproportionally affect Black and Hispanic sexual minority adolescent boys, but more research is needed to understand the mechanisms driving these disparities.

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