What are anabolic
steroids?
"Anabolic
steroids" is the familiar name for synthetic substances related to
the male sex hormones (androgens). They promote the growth of skeletal
muscle (anabolic effects) and the development of male sexual characteristics
(androgenic effects), and also have some other effects. The term "anabolic
steroids" will be used through-out this report because of its familiarity,
although the proper term for these compounds is "anabolic-androgenic"
steroids.
Anabolic steroids
were developed in the late 1930s primarily to treat hypogonadism,
a condition in which the testes do not produce sufficient testosterone
for normal growth, development, and sexual functioning. The primary
medical uses of these compounds are to treat delayed puberty, some
types of impotence, and wasting of the body caused by HIV infection
or other diseases.
During the 1930s,
scientists discovered that anabolic steroids could facilitate the
growth of skeletal muscle in laboratory animals, which led to use
of the compounds first by bodybuilders and weightlifters and then
by athletes in other sports. Steroid abuse has become so widespread
in athletics that it affects the outcome of sports contests.
More than
100 different anabolic steroids have been developed, but they require
a prescription to be used legally in the United States. Most steroids
that are used illegally are smuggled in from other countries, illegally
diverted from U.S. pharmacies, or synthesized in clandestine laboratories.
What are steroidal
supplements?
In
the United States, supplements such as dehydroepian-drosterone (DHEA)
and androstenedione (street name Andro) can be purchased legally without
a prescription through many commercial sources including health food
stores. They are often referred to as dietary supplements, although
they are not food products. They are often taken because the user
believes they have anabolic effects.
Steroidal supplements
can be converted into testosterone (an important male sex hormone)
or a similar compound in the body. Whether such conversion produces
sufficient quantities of testosterone to promote muscle growth or
whether the supplements themselves promote muscle growth is unknown.
Little is known about the side effects of steroidal supplements, but
if large quantities of these compounds substantially increase testosterone
levels in the body, they also are likely to produce the same side
effects as anabolic steroids.
What is the
scope of steroid abuse
in the United States?
Recent evidence suggests
that steroid abuse among adolescents is on the rise. The 1999 Monitoring
the Future study, a NIDA-funded survey of drug abuse among adolescents
in middle and high schools across the United States, estimated that
2.7 percent of 8th- and 10th-graders and 2.9 percent of 12th-graders
had taken anabolic steroids at least once in their lives. For 10th-graders,
that is a significant increase from 1998, when 2.0 percent of 10th-graders
said they had taken anabolic steroids at least once. For all three grades,
the 1999 levels represent a significant increase from 1991, the first
year that data on steroid abuse were collected from the younger students.
In that year, 1.9 percent of 8th-graders, 1.8 percent of 10th-graders,
and 2.1 percent of 12th-graders reported that they had taken anabolic
steroids at least once.
Few data exist
on the extent of steroid abuse by adults. It has been estimated that
hundreds of thousands of people aged 18 and older abuse anabolic steroids
at least once a year.
Among both adolescents
and adults, steroid abuse is higher among males than females. However,
steroid abuse is growing most rapidly among young women.
