Cross-sectional Study of Female Students Reporting Anabolic Steroid Use

Abstract

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). (OR, 7.54; 95% CI,, 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.

Anabolic–androgenic steroid use among Brazilian women: an exploratory investigation

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Anabolic steroids among resistance training practitioners

“…However, although our averages are above the age ranges described in other studies [27, 10, 9], the mean corroborates with the values seen in the literature if the age at onset of AS use is considered. It is also worth mentioning that 6.7% of the individuals started the use of AS at an age younger than 18 years old, as evidenced in other studies [28–31].…”

Corticotropin-Releasing Factor Modulation of Forebrain GABAergic Transmission has a Pivotal Role in the Expression of Anabolic Steroid-Induced Anxiety in the Female Mouse

“…Consistent with reports in human subjects, chronic AAS exposure increases anxiety-like behavior in adult male rodents, as assessed on the elevated plus maze (EPM), in open field paradigms, and in risk-assessment behaviors (Rocha et al, 2007;Ambar and Chiavegatto, 2009). Although the public focus of steroid abuse and the preponderance of animal studies have been on adult males, estimated use among adolescents indicates that several hundred thousand current AAS users are girls and young women (Elliot et al, 2007;Johnston et al, 2009). The risks associated with AAS use in this population may be compounded by the high degree of hormone sensitivity present during adolescence (O'Connor and Cicero, 1993;Sato et al, 2008;Schulz et al, 2009) and by sex-specific differences in susceptibility to behavioral disorders, such as anxiety, which is more prevalent in women (Zender and Olshansky, 2009).…”