In August 2019 the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) has reported an anti-doping rule violation against the Swedish football club AIK and its player Rasmus Lindkvist for their failure to submit to sample collection.

The UEFA Doping Control Officer (DCO) reported that on 22 August 2019 the player did not report to the Doping Control Station straight from the pitch as soon as the match was over, which resulted in the player staying in the dressing room for less than one minute before reporting to the Doping Control Station.

The club and the player apologised for the incident and submitted that for the doping control routines at the Swedisch League the player can go to the dressing room, followed by the DCO, after the match. Thereupon the football club had changed its doping control routine.

The Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body (CEDB) finds that the anti-doping rule violations have been established and that this was undisputed by the football club and the player.

The CEDB deems that it is of utmost importance, in order to ensure the functioning and efficiency of the UEFA anti-doping programme, that clubs and players respect and follow the regulations set out by UEFA and act diligently when implementing such regulations.

Therefore the CEDB decides on 19 September 2019:

1. To fine AIK €5,000 for the doping offence, i.e. for not ensuring that the player Lindkvist Rasmus selected for sample collection reported to the doping control station
   straight from the pitch as soon as the match was over.
2. To fine AIK player Lindkvist Rasmus €5,000 for the doping offence, i.e. for not reporting to the doping control station directly after the conclusion of the match.
3. The above fines must be paid into the bank account indicated below within 90 days of communication of this decision.
4. AIK ensures that the player is personally informed of this decision.

Women's Experiences of Using Anabolic Androgenic Steroids / Annica Börjesson, Margaretha Ekebergh, Marja-Liisa Dahl, Lena Ekström, Mikael Lehtihet, Veronica Vicente

• Frontiers in Sports and Active Living 3 (11 November 2021); 656413
• PMID: 34859201
• PMCID: PMC8632252
• DOI: 10.3389/fspor.2021.656413

Abstract

Anabolic androgenic steroids are used by women to increase their muscle mass and because of their performance-enhancing effects. Despite permanent/high risk of side effects, knowledge is inadequate. Our aim has been to deepen understanding about women's use of anabolic androgenic steroids. This phenomenological study is based on the reflective lifeworld research (RLR) approach. Lifeworld interviews were conducted with 12 women, aged 21-56 years, about their experiences of using anabolic steroids. The results show that women experience a sense of pride when they successfully achieve their goals. This is the driving force, triggering tension between suffering and success. Our research adds important knowledge from a reflective lifeworld perspective and shows that women's use of anabolic androgenic steroids is a complex phenomenon. Understanding and knowledge are important in order to be able to meet and support women in their fears and difficulties.

Reversible hypogonadism and azoospermia as a result of anabolic-androgenic steroid use in a bodybuilder with personality disorder. A case report / N.P. Boyadjiev, K.N. Georgieva, R.I. Massaldjieva, S.I. Gueorguiev

• Journal of sports medicine and physical fitness 40 (2000) 3 (September); p. 271-274
• PMID: 11125771

Abstract

We report a case of reversible hypogonadism and azoospermia resulting from anabolic-androgenic steroid abuse in a body-builder with primary personality disorder. A keen body builder, a 20-year-old man, developed acute aggressive and destructive behavior after 10-month use of Bionabol (mean total dose of 1,120 mg per month), and Retabolil (mean total dose of 150 mg per month). He was found to meet the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV ed. (DSM-IV) criteria for Borderline personality disorder. On admission to the hospital the clinical profile of the patient showed extremely low levels of serum testosterone. Values increased to normal levels 10 months after withdrawal of steroids. The semen was azoospermic at the beginning of the study period, oligospermic five months later, and reached 20 x 10(6) sperm per mL ten months after the steroid discontinuation. Anabolic steroids can greatly affect the male pituitary-gonadal axis. A hypogonadal state, characterized by decreased serum testosterone and impaired spermatogenesis, was induced in the patient. This condition was reversible after the steroid withdrawal, but the process took more than ten months. His personal imbalance could be considered a personality trait rather than a result of the anabolic-androgenic steroid use. There were probably dispositional personality characteristics that contributed to anabolic steroid abuse in our patient. The hypogonadal changes which occurred after his long-term steroid abuse were for the most part reversible.

The Sturm und Drang of anabolic steroid use: angst, anxiety, and aggression / , Leslie P. Henderson

• Trends in Neurosciences 35 (2012) 6 (1 June); p. 382-392
• PMID: 22516619
• PMCID: PMC4127319
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2012.03.001

Abstract

Anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) are illicitly administered to enhance athletic performance and body image. Although conferring positive actions on performance, steroid abuse is associated with changes in anxiety and aggression. AAS users are often keenly invested in understanding the biological actions of these drugs. Thus, mechanistic information on AAS actions is important not only for the biomedical community, but also for steroid users. Here we review findings from animal studies on the impact of AAS exposure on neural systems that are crucial for the production of anxiety and aggression, and compare the effects of the different classes of AAS and their potential signaling mechanisms, as well as context-, age- and sex-dependent aspects of their actions.

Anabolic steroids--the drugs that give and take away manhood. A case with an unusual physical sign / A. Stanley, M. Ward

• Medicine, Science and the Law 34 (1994) 1 (1 Januay); p. 82-83
• PMID: 8159080
• DOI: 10.1177/002580249403400115

Abstract

A case is presented in which the abuse of anabolic steroids by a body builder led to an unusual physical sign. The case discusses the effects that anabolic steroid abuse can have upon manhood. The frequency of anabolic steroid misuse is increasing. The implications of this with respect to psychiatric illness and violent crime are discussed. It is well known that the use of anabolic steroids among young men, body builders in particular, is growing apace (Perry and Littlepage, 1992), and they may be aware of the risks of impurity and contamination. There is a wide range of anabolic steroids in use; they are often used in doses of greater than 1 mg/kg per day. As well as single use, the misuser may 'stack' (use more than one at a time) or 'pyramid' (use increasing doses of a given drug) the steroids (Kennedy, 1990). The physical and psychiatric effects of anabolic steroids are well known (Kashkin and Kleber, 1989; Brower, 1992; Pope and Katz, 1988). However, we describe a case with psychiatric symptoms, a violent outburst and a unique (?) physical sign.

Diagnosing the male steroid user : drug use, body image and disordered masculinity / Helen Keane

• Health 9 (2005) 2 (April); p. 189-208

ABSTRACT

As steroid use has gained prominence as a dangerous form of substance abuse, two main sets of discourses have been deployed to investigate and ameliorate this emerging public health threat. This article examines these two discursive frameworks and their constitution of the male steroid user as psychologically disordered, drawing on a range of medical and psychological literature, The first framework understands steroid use as a form of illicit drug use, and constitutes the steroid user as an antisocial and excessively masculine subject, The second locates steroid use within the field of body image disorder, producing the steroid user as a damaged and feminized male, a vivid example of masculinity in crisis, Both of these approaches tend to dide the specificity of steroid use and its associated bodily practices in their eagerness to form it into an easily comprehended entity which can be targeted by medical and legal governance.

Anabolic steroids and the mind / B. Corrigan

• Medical Journal of Australia 165 (1996) 4 (August); p. 222-226)
• PMID: 8773655
• DOI: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1996.tb124932.x

Abstract

Anabolic steroids were first used by weight lifters and others involved in pursuits of strength, but are now taken, often in large doses, by young men interested in enhancing their appearance. The severe psychogenic side effects of these high doses include aggressive and violent behaviour. Problems with drug withdrawal and drug dependence are also common in users of anabolic steroids and these drugs may also provoke psychiatric disorders. I review these complications, as reported in the past decade, and comment on two recent violent murders in Sydney in which anabolic steroid use was implicated.

Psychiatric and hostility factors related to use of anabolic steroids in monozygotic twins / Thomas A. Pagonis, Nikiforos V. Angelopoulos, George N. Koukoulis, Christos S. Hadjichristodoulou, Paraskevi N. Toli

• European Psychiatry 21 (2006) 8 (December); p. 563-569
• PMID: 16529916
• DOI: 10.1016/j.eurpsy.2005.11.002

Abstract

Introduction: Anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) are derived by chemical manipulation of the testosterone molecule. The specified category of drugs produces anabolic, androgenic and psycho-active effects including elevated aggressive, hostile, violent and anti social behavior.

Objective: The objective of this case report observational study was to evaluate the possible psychological consequences of AS use in the twin user of each pair, compared with the non-user twin.

Methodology: We studied two pairs of male monozygotic twins: one pair 24 years old and the other 31 years old, with absolute genome and phenotype similarity. One of the twins of each pair used AAS while the other did not. Both pairs lived in Hellenic provincial towns and followed a common training and nutrition regime. The psychometric instruments used were the Symptoms Check List-90 (SCL-90) and the Hostility and Direction of Hostility Questionnaire (HDHQ). The psychometric evaluations took place within a time interval of 6 months.

Results: The study found high levels of aggressiveness, hostility, anxiety and paranoid ideation in the twins who used AS. The non-user twins showed no deviation from their initial status.

Conclusion: The use of AAS induced several important psychiatric changes in monozygotic twins which were not present in the twin who did not use AAS.

Big men feeling small : Childhood bullying experience, muscle dysmorphia and other mental health problems in bodybuilders / Dieter Wolke, Maria Sapouna

• Psychology of Sport and Exercise 9 (2008) 5 (September); p. 595-604
• DOI: 10.1016/j.psychsport.2007.10.002

Abstract

Objectives

Muscle dysmorphia (MD) is a preoccupation with the idea that one's body is insufficiently lean and muscular and considered as a body image disorder in men. This study aimed to investigate the relationship of MD with childhood bullying victimization experiences and mental health problems in a nonclinical sample of male bodybuilders.

Design

A cross-sectional study was conducted with a sample of 100 male bodybuilders.

Methods

Participants completed a questionnaire battery consisting of the muscle dysmorphic inventory (MDI), and scales on childhood bullying victimization, self-esteem, and psychological problems including depression, anxiety and obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms.

Results

High scores on the MDI and bullying victimization in childhood predicted global psychopathology and low self-esteem. Psychological functioning and self-esteem were most strongly adversely affected if the men were victims of bullying and scored high on the MDI (significant moderation effect). Structural equation modeling (SEM) analyses furthermore found an indirect linkage of victimization with global psychopathology and self-esteem via MDI (mediation effect).

Conclusions

Childhood bullying victimization and MD are strongly associated with concurrent anxiety, depressive and obsessive-compulsive symptoms and low self-esteem.

Compulsive weight lifting and anabolic drug abuse among women rape victims / A.J. Gruber, H.G. Pope Jr

• Comprehensive Psychiatry 40 (1999) 4 (July/August); p. 273-277
• PMID: 10428186
• DOI: 10.1016/s0010-440x(99)90127-x

Abstract

In the course of a study of 75 female weight lifters, we encountered 10 (13%) who reported that they were raped as teenagers or adults. Nine of these women began or greatly increased their weight lifting activities after the assault to be better able to defend themselves against men. Seven began abusing anabolic steroids and/or clenbuterol to gain muscle mass. Compulsive weight lifting and anabolic substance abuse may represent another form of response to the trauma of sexual assault.