Social Interest Data as a Proxy for Off-Label Performance-Enhancing Drug Use: Implications and Clinical Considerations

Abstract

Performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) can be categorized into various classes based on the physiological mechanism of the compound, with the most popular being anabolic steroids, selective androgen receptor modulators, and growth hormones. Ancillary compounds, such as selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) and selective estrogen receptor degraders, are commonly utilized alongside a PED to counterbalance any potential undesired side effects. With little clinically relevant data to support the use of these ancillary compounds, medical education and evidence-based approaches aimed at monitoring the potential adverse effects of PED use are sparse.This study aims to identify emerging trends in the interest of PEDs and related ancillary compounds, hypothesize the physiological effects of the continued respective behavior, and propose a proxy for use by clinicians to approximate off-label drug use and subsequently modify their practices accordingly. Several significant trends were identified for non-FDA-regulated compounds (i.e., selective androgen receptor modulators such as RAD-140) and off-label indications for FDA-regulated drugs (i.e., SERMs such as tamoxifen). A significant increase in interest regarding selective androgen receptor modulators, mirrored by anecdotal reports in clinical settings and online forums, is coupled with stagnant or decreasing interest in both post-cycle therapies and anabolic steroids. Ultimately, we propose a call to action for utilizing social data and/or prescription data as a proxy for clinicians to better understand trends in these compounds and thus refine their treatment protocols in a concordant manner.

Keywords: anabolic androgenic steroid; anabolic steroid; exercise sciences; exogenous steroids; google trends healthcare; selective androgen receptor modulator; sports medicine; drug abuse.

Figure 1. Interest data for anabolic steroids and their relative differences over a five-year period

RSV: relative search volume; ns: not significant (p > 0.05); ** p<0.01; **** p<0.0001 Data source: Google Trends

Figure 2. Interest data for selective androgen receptor modulators and their relative differences over a five-year period

RSV: relative search volume; **** p<0.0001 Data source: Google Trends

Figure 3. Interest data for grow hormones and their relative differences over a five-year period

RSV: relative search volume; HGH: human growth hormone; IGF: insulin-like growth factor; ns: not significant (p>0.05); **** p<0.0001 Data source: Google Trends

Figure 4. Interest data for grow hormones and their relative differences over a five-year period

RSV: relative search volume; HGH: human growth hormone; **** p<0.0001 Data source: Google Trends