Anabolic-androgenic steroid abuse and performance-enhancing drugs among adolescents

Abstract

Adolescents use a wide variety of drugs and supplements, including anabolic steroids, to improve their sports performance and physical appearance. Prevalence rates for steroid use generally range between 4% and 12% among male adolescents and between 0.5% and 2% for female adolescents. Although the short-term health effects of anabolic steroids such as effects on the liver, serum lipids, reproductive and cardiovascular systems, and moods and behavior have been increasingly studied, the long-term health effects are not well known. Steroid users are more likely to be boys, participate in strength-related sports, and use other illicit drugs. The effects of many other potential risk factors have not been fully elucidated, however. Assessment of anabolic steroid abuse includes physical and mental status and laboratory examinations. Steroid cessation, supportive therapy, and adjunctive pharmacotherapies are all employed in treating steroid abuse and dependence.