Abuse of Anabolic-Androgenic Steroids as a Social Phenomenon and Medical Problem—Its Potential Negative Impact on Reproductive Health Based on 50 Years of Case Report Analysis

<b>Background/Objectives:</b> Illegal anabolic-androgenic steroids are a significant lifestyle factor in infertility. The aim of our study was to analyze clinical cases resulting from their use for their frequency, geographical location, dynamics, substances used, the age and gender of the users, and the types of clinical complications. <b>Methods:</b> Publications were obtained by searching PubMed for the following terms: 'anabolic-androgenic steroids' and 'clinical case'. Publications from 1973 to 2022 were qualified for the analysis. <b>Results:</b> An increasing trend in the number of clinical cases resulting from the use of steroids, as well as the number of substances used simultaneously, was observed. The substances changed over the decades, but in the last 20 years, testosterone, nandrolone, stanozolol, methandienone, trenbolone, and methenolone have predominated. Cardiological side effects predominated in each period, with a continuous increase in their occurrence. The most common among these were myocardial infarctions and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The next most numerous adverse events involved psychiatric, endocrinological, hepatic, and oncological problems. We demonstrated a possible relationship between the use of individual steroids and medical issues; the strongest associations were between testosterone and endocrine complications, and methylstenbolone and hepatic complications. <b>Conclusions:</b> There has been an increasing trend in case reports describing serious health problems associated with the use of anabolic-androgenic steroids, a tendency to use several substances simultaneously, and a preferential use of substances with a high potential of causing serious side effects. These phenomena mainly concern men, with an average age of 30, and the health problems that dominate in clinical case reports-including serious cardiological, psychiatric, endocrinological, hepatic, and oncological diseases-may potentially affect reproductive health and pose a challenge for reproductive medicine.

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Publication Details

Journal
Journal of Clinical Medicine
Published
2024-10-02
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm13195892
Citations
5
Primary Topic
Hormonal and reproductive studies
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
1.79
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article

Abuse of Anabolic-Androgenic Steroids as a Social Phenomenon and Medical Problem—Its Potential Negative Impact on Reproductive Health Based on 50 Years of Case Report Analysis

Adam Szeląg, Krzysztof Kujawa, Monika Skrzypiec‐Spring, Kinga Brawańska et al.
5 citations
Journal of Clinical Medicine
Hormonal and reproductive studies
1.79
article

Abuse of Anabolic-Androgenic Steroids as a Social Phenomenon and Medical Problem—Its Potential Negative Impact on Reproductive Health Based on 50 Years of Case Report Analysis

Adam Szeląg, Krzysztof Kujawa, Monika Skrzypiec‐Spring, Kinga Brawańska, Julia Rozmus, Gina Abu Faraj
article en
5 citations

Abstract

<b>Background/Objectives:</b> Illegal anabolic-androgenic steroids are a significant lifestyle factor in infertility. The aim of our study was to analyze clinical cases resulting from their use for their frequency, geographical location, dynamics, substances used, the age and gender of the users, and the types of clinical complications. <b>Methods:</b> Publications were obtained by searching PubMed for the following terms: 'anabolic-androgenic steroids' and 'clinical case'. Publications from 1973 to 2022 were qualified for the analysis. <b>Results:</b> An increasing trend in the number of clinical cases resulting from the use of steroids, as well as the number of substances used simultaneously, was observed. The substances changed over the decades, but in the last 20 years, testosterone, nandrolone, stanozolol, methandienone, trenbolone, and methenolone have predominated. Cardiological side effects predominated in each period, with a continuous increase in their occurrence. The most common among these were myocardial infarctions and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The next most numerous adverse events involved psychiatric, endocrinological, hepatic, and oncological problems. We demonstrated a possible relationship between the use of individual steroids and medical issues; the strongest associations were between testosterone and endocrine complications, and methylstenbolone and hepatic complications. <b>Conclusions:</b> There has been an increasing trend in case reports describing serious health problems associated with the use of anabolic-androgenic steroids, a tendency to use several substances simultaneously, and a preferential use of substances with a high potential of causing serious side effects. These phenomena mainly concern men, with an average age of 30, and the health problems that dominate in clinical case reports-including serious cardiological, psychiatric, endocrinological, hepatic, and oncological diseases-may potentially affect reproductive health and pose a challenge for reproductive medicine.

Journal of Clinical MedicineVol. 13(19)
Wroclaw Medical University (PL)
Openalex Percentile: Top 13%
Hormonal and reproductive studies
1.79
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