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.

A T Kicman
Br J Pharmacol. 2008 June; 154(3): 502–521.
Published online 2008 May 26. doi: 10.1038/bjp.2008.165

Abstract
Athletes and bodybuilders have recognized for several decades that the use of anabolic steroids can promote muscle growth and strength but it is only relatively recently that these agents are being revisited for clinical purposes. Anabolic steroids are being considered for the treatment of cachexia associated with chronic disease states, and to address loss of muscle mass in the elderly, but nevertheless their efficacy still needs to be demonstrated in terms of improved physical function and quality of life. In sport, these agents are performance enhancers, this being particularly apparent in women, although there is a high risk of virilization despite the favourable myotrophic–androgenic dissociation that many xenobiotic steroids confer. Modulation of androgen receptor expression appears to be key to partial dissociation, with consideration of both intracellular steroid metabolism and the topology of the bound androgen receptor interacting with co-activators. An anticatabolic effect, by interfering with glucocorticoid receptor expression, remains an attractive hypothesis. Behavioural changes by non-genomic and genomic pathways probably help motivate training. Anabolic steroids continue to be the most common adverse finding in sport and, although apparently rare, designer steroids have been synthesized in an attempt to circumvent the dope test. Doping with anabolic steroids can result in damage to health, as recorded meticulously in the former German Democratic Republic. Even so, it is important not to exaggerate the medical risks associated with their administration for sporting or bodybuilding purposes but to emphasize to users that an attitude of personal invulnerability to their adverse effects is certainly misguided.

Issues for DSM-V: Clarifying the Diagnostic Criteria for Anabolic-Androgenic Steroid Dependence / Gen Kanayama, Kirk, J. Brower, Ruth I. Wood, James I. Hudson, Harrison G. Pope, Jr.. - (American Journal of Psychiatry 166 (2009) 6 (June); 642-645)

• PMID: 19487399
• PMCID: PMC2696068
• DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2009.08111699

llicit anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) use represents a growing worldwide publichealth problem. Some AAS users consume only a few courses of these drugs in a lifetime, but others progress to a maladaptive pattern of almost continuous use, despite adverse medical, psychological, and social effects. In the last 20 years, accumulating animal and human studies have documented and characterized this syndrome of AAS dependence.

Sean Esteban McCabe, Kirk J. Brower, Brady T. West, Toben F. Nelson, and Henry Wechslerd. Drug Alcohol Depend. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2008 May 13.Published in final edited form as: Drug Alcohol Depend. 2007 October 8; 90(2-3): 243–251.

Abstract
This study assessed the prevalence, trends, and student- and college-level characteristics associated with the non-medical use of anabolic steroids (NMAS) among U.S. college students. Data were collected through self-administered mail surveys, from 15,282, 14,428, 13,953, and 10,904 randomly selected college students at the same 119 nationally representative colleges in 1993, 1997, 1999 and 2001, respectively. The prevalence of lifetime, past-year and past-month NMAS was 1% or less and generally did not change significantly between 1993 and 2001, with one exception: past-year NMAS increased significantly among men from 1993 (0.36%) to 2001 (0.90%). Multiple logistic regression analyses revealed that lifetime and past-year NMAS were associated with student-level characteristics such as being male and participation in intercollegiate athletics. Lifetime and past-year NMAS were also positively associated with several risky behaviors, including cigarette smoking, illicit drug use, drinking and driving, and DSM-IV alcohol use disorders. Nearly 7 out of every 10 lifetime non-medical users of anabolic steroids met past-year criteria for a DSM-IV alcohol use disorder. Although the overall prevalence of NMAS remained low between 1993 and 2001, findings suggest that continued monitoring is necessary because male student-athletes are at heightened risk for NMAS and this behavior is associated with a wide range of risky health behaviors. The characteristics associated with NMAS have important implications for future practice and research.

Huidplooimetingen - minicollege Eigen Kracht (Dutch title)

Measuring bodyfat percentage can be a tricky thing to do correctly. Sportnutritionist Floris Wardenaar shows how to procede if you want to measure somebody's bodyfat percentage. At several points of the body the skinfolds are measured with a skinfold caliper and added to a sum that is compared to a skinfold table. To measure correctly you need a lot of experience. It is advised that the same person is taking the measurements in time to get a correct estimate.

This video is part of the True Strength (Eigen Kracht) campaign of the Dopingautoriteit. A campaign that warns gym users and bodybuilders for the health risks of doping use and offers healthy and effective alternatives (training, recovery, nutrition, nutritional supplements, mental techniques).

Nutrient Timing - minicollege Eigen Kracht (Dutch title)

Nutrient Timing is a concept in sportsnutrition that has gained considerable popularity with fitness enthousiasts and athletes alike. Sportnutritionist Floris Wardenaar discusses NT and it's different components (Energy Phase, Anabolic Phase and Growth Phase).

This video is part of the True Strength (Eigen Kracht) campaign of the Dopingautoriteit. A campaign that warns gym users and bodybuilders for the health risks of doping use and offers healthy and effective alternatives (training, recovery, nutrition, nutritional supplements, mental techniques).

Bewegen vs Voeding - minicollege Eigen Kracht (Dutch title)

Obesity and being overweight is becoming a worldwide health problem. Often more exercise is advised to combat this problem. In this True Strength minilecture sportnutritionist and exercise physiologist Tjeu Maas discusses the effectivity of exercise and nutrition. Conclusion: cutting calories is more effective than upping your exercise regimen in slimming down.

This video is part of the True Strength (Eigen Kracht) campaign of the Dopingautoriteit. A campaign that warns gym users and bodybuilders for the health risks of doping use and offers healthy and effective alternatives (training, recovery, nutrition, nutritional supplements, mental techniques).

Alcohol & herstel (Dutch title)

Alcohol can compromise the athlete's recuperation, and in doing so halts his progress. Sportnutritionist Floris Wardenaar in his True Strength mini lecture discusses alcohol consumption and sports, and why it's not the way to go.

This video is part of the True Strength (Eigen Kracht) campaign of the Dopingautoriteit. A campaign that warns gym users and bodybuilders for the health risks of doping use and offers healthy and effective alternatives (training, recovery, nutrition, nutritional supplements, mental techniques).

Long-term psychiatric and medical consequences of anabolic-androgenic steroid abuse : a looming public health concern? Gen Kanayama, James I. Hudson, Harrison G Pope Jr. - (Drug and Alcohol Dependence 98 (2008) 1-2 (1 November); p 1-12

• PMID: 18599224
• PMCID: PMC2646607
• DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2008.05.004

Abstract

Background: The problem of anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) abuse has recently generated widespread public and media attention. Most AAS abusers, however, are not elite athletes like those portrayed in the media, and many are not competitive athletes at all. This larger but less visible population of ordinary AAS users began to emerge in about 1980. The senior members of this population are now entering middle age; they represent the leading wave of a new type of aging former substance abusers, with specific medical and psychiatric risks.

Methods: We reviewed the evolving literature on long-term psychiatric and medical consequences of AAS abuse.

Results: Long-term use of supraphysiologic doses of AAS may cause irreversible cardiovascular toxicity, especially atherosclerotic effects and cardiomyopathy. In other organ systems, evidence of persistent toxicity is more modest, and interestingly, there is little evidence for an increased risk of prostate cancer. High concentrations of AAS, comparable to those likely sustained by many AAS abusers, produce apoptotic effects on various cell types, including neuronal cells--raising the specter of possibly irreversible neuropsychiatric toxicity. Finally, AAS abuse appears to be associated with a range of potentially prolonged psychiatric effects, including dependence syndromes, mood syndromes, and progression to other forms of substance abuse. However, the prevalence and severity of these various effects remains poorly understood.

Conclusions: As the first large wave of former AAS users now moves into middle age, it will be important to obtain more systematic data on the long-term psychiatric and medical consequences of this form of substance abuse.

Is There an Association between the Use of Anabolic-Androgenic Steroids and Criminality? / Kurt Skårberg, Fred Nyberg, Ingemar Engström. - (European Addiction Research 16 (2010) 4 (September); p. 213–219)

• PMID: 20798542
• DOI: 10.1159/000320286

Aims:

The aim of this study was to improve our understanding
of the proposed association between anabolic-androgenic
steroids (AAS) and criminality.

Methods:

The study was based on interviews and criminality data involving 32 users of AAS who had sought treatment for AAS-related problems at a psychiatric addiction clinic in Sweden. A score derived from the number of crimes, their level of severity and the relevant time periods was computed to allow comparisons between subgroups sorted according to type and timing of drug use.

Results:

The criminal activity level increased for 69% of the individuals after having started to use drugs. This was particularly obvious in the group who had started its involvement with drugs by using AAS. Crimes of violence and weapon offences showed a great increase in incidence after drug use had been initiated. The study also showed a significant decrease in criminality after treatment, particularly among individuals who had started their drug use with AAS.

Conclusion:

The results suggest that there is an association
between the use of AAS and criminality, especially with regard to crimes of violence and weapon offences, and that this criminality may be enhanced when AAS are combined with other drugs of abuse.