Anabolic supplements remain popular despite the risks associated with their use. Professional and recreational athletes take these steroids to improve performance and hasten recovery. Media reports showing the advantages of supplementation have increased steroid use in other populations including school children. Such changes are alarming as supplements cause side effects.
Heart Trouble
Taking anabolic drugs can increase muscle strength and size. The heart is a muscle, so steroids affect the cardiovascular system as well. An experiment by A. S. Maior and colleagues described in the December 2010 edition of "Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology & Physiology" assessed heart function in people taking steroids. The scientists recorded the electrocardiograms of users and nonusers before and after they exercised.
Steroid users displayed an abnormal EKG relative to control subjects. They recovered slower after the exercise and had to work their heart harder. The authors speculated that such changes placed the steroid users at risk for heart pathology and cardiac arrest.
Kidney Damage
Steroid abuse changes other organs as well. A study by L. C. Herlitz and co-workers published in the January 2010 issue of "Journal of the American Society of Nephrology" looked at kidney function in chronic steroid users. The researchers conducted laboratory tests on bodybuilders following extended use of anabolic supplements.
Biopsies revealed kidney damage in the athletes. The users showed excessive protein in their blood and failed to properly filter toxins. Several of the patients had kidney lesions. These symptoms, in general, disappeared when the subjects stopped taking supplements. Yet, other problems like excessive weight loss soon became apparent. Many patients required long-term medication and care.
Mood Change
Testosterone, an anabolic steroid, plays an important role in mental health. Taking testosterone supplements, therefore, causes changes in mood. A report by D. B. O'Conner and his team in England tested anabolic steroids in healthy individuals. These researchers assessed mood scores following a single injection of testosterone or placebo.
The results, presented in the June 2004 edition of "Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism," indicated that short-term use of testosterone increased hostility and anger relative to placebo. The effects were small, but they could be important for susceptible individuals. In addition, long-term use may exaggerate these changes.
Cancer Risk
Older men and women often consider hormone replacement therapy to combat negative age-related changes. Yet, testosterone replacement may increase the risk of getting cancer. An analysis by R. M. Tamimi and associates in the July 24, 2006 issue of "Archives of Internal Medicine" looked at the impact of testosterone therapy on postmenopausal women.
Hormone replacement with testosterone and estrogen was associated with a greater cancer incidence than using estrogen alone. Users also showed twice the incidence of nonusers. Overall, women using testosterone replacement had a 17 percent increased risk of developing breast cancer.
References
- "Sports Medicine"; Anabolic Steroid Use: Patterns of Use and Detection of Doping"; M. R. Graham et al.; 2008
- "Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology & Physiology"; Abnormal Cardiac Repolarization in Anabolic Androgenic Steroid Users Carrying Out Submaximal Exercise Testing; A. S. Maior et al.; December 2010
- "Journal of the American Society of Nephrology"; Development of Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis After Anabolic Steroid Abuse; L. C. Herlitz et al.; January 2010
- "Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism": Effects of Testosterone on Mood, Aggression, and Sexual Behavior in Young Men: A Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Cross-Over Study
- "Archives of Internal Medicine": Combined Estrogen and Testosterone Use and Risk of Breast Cancer in Postmenopausal Women
Member Comments