Fact Sheet - Steroids

• Anabolic steroids are synthetic substances related to male sex hormones (androgens). They promote growth of skeletal muscle (anabolic effect) and the development of male sexual characteristics (androgenic effects), and also have other effects.

• Anabolic steroid abuse is probably widespread among athletes and would-be sports competitors at all levels, although few data are available to provide exact estimates of prevalence. Many anabolic steroid abusers are unwilling to report the practice, because the International Olympic Committee and many other amateur and professional sports organizations have banned their use.

• Anabolic steroids are taken in combinations, a practice called "stacking." Abusers frequently take 2 or more anabolic steroids together, mixing oral and/or injectable types, sometimes adding drugs such as stimulants or painkillers. The rationale for stacking is a belief - which has not been tested by science - that the different drugs interact to produce a greater effect on muscle size than could be obtained by simply increasing the dose of a single drug.

• Anabolic steroids are taken in cyclic dosage regimens, a practice called "pyramiding." At the beginning of a cycle, the person starts with low doses of the stacked substances and then gradually increases the doses for 6 to 12 weeks. In the second half of the cycle, the doses are slowly decreased to zero. This is sometimes followed by a second cycle during which the person continues to train, but without drugs. Abusers believe that pyramiding allows the body time to adjust to the high doses, and the drug-free cycle allows time for the body's hormonal system to recuperate. As with stacking, the perceived benefits of pyramiding have not been substantiated scientifically.

• Anabolic steroids are taken in cyclic dosage regimens, a practice called "pyramiding." At the beginning of a cycle, the person starts with low doses of the stacked substances and then gradually increases the doses for 6 to 12 weeks. In the second half of the cycle, the doses are slowly decreased to zero. The perceived benefits of pyramiding have not been substantiated scientifically.

• Health consequences associated with anabolic steroid abuse in boys and men include: reduced sperm production, shrinking of the testicles, impotence, difficult or painful urination, baldness, and irreversible breast enlargement (gynecomastia).

• Complications from anabolic steroid abuse in boys and men include: reduced sperm production, testicular atrophy, impotence, dysuria, baldness, and irreversible gynecomastia.

• Health consequences associated with anabolic steroid abuse in girls and women include: development of more masculine characteristics such as decreased body fat and breast size, deepening of the voice, excessive growth of body hair, and loss of scalp hair, as well as clitoral enlargement.

• Research indicates that some steroid users might turn to other drugs to alleviate some of the negative effects of anabolic steroids. For example, a study of 227 men admitted in 1999 to a private treatment center for dependence on heroin or other opioids found that 9.3% had abused anabolic steroids before trying any other illicit drug. Of these 9.3%, 86% first used opioids to counteract insomnia and irritability resulting from the anabolic steroids.

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