Diane L. Elliot ; JeeWon Cheong ; Esther L. Moe; Linn Goldberg
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2007;161:572-577
Objective: To determine the characteristics of female
US high school students reporting anabolic steroid use.
Design: Cross-sectional assessment using the 2003 Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention national schoolbased
Youth Risk Behavior Survey database.
Setting: Nationally representative sample of US high
schools.
Participants: Female students in grades 9 through 12
(n=7544).
Main Outcome Measures: Participants’ self-reported
anabolic steroid use was compared with other healthrelated
behaviors and with sports participation.
Results: Prior or ongoing anabolic steroid use was reported
by 5.3% of female high school students. Those adolescent
girls had a marked increase in other healthcompromising
behaviors, including past 30-day use of alcohol (odds ratio [OR], 8.83; 95% confidence interval [CI], 5.49-14.20]), cigarettes (OR, 5.14; 95% CI, 3.14-8.42), marijuana (OR, 7.91; 95% CI, 5.20-12.04), cocaine (OR, 10.78; 95% CI, 6.18-18.81), and diet pills (OR,
4.86; 95% CI, 2.98-7.93). They were more likely to carry
a weapon (OR, 7.54; 95% CI, 4.83-11.76), have had sexual
intercourse before age 13 years (OR, 2.90; 95% CI, 1.58-
5.33), and have had feelings of sadness or hopelessness almost every day for at least 2 consecutive weeks (OR, 4.13; 95% CI, 2.57-7.22). They were less likely to play school-sponsored team sports (OR, 0.52; 95% CI 0.34-0.80). Steroid users participating in sports shared the same problem behaviors as steroid users not participating in team athletics.
Conclusion: Self-reported anabolic steroid use is not confined
to adolescent girls in competitive athletics and is an indicator of adolescent girls with a marked increase in a cluster of other health-harming behaviors.
