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[[File:Testosteron.svg|thumb|Chemical structure of the natural anabolic hormone [[testosterone]], 17β-hydroxy-4-androsten-3-one]]
[[File:Metandienone.svg|thumb|Chemical structure of the synthetic steroid [[methandrostenolone]] (Dianabol). 17α-Methylation (upper-right corner) enhances oral [[bioavailability]].]]

'''Anabolic steroids''', technically known as '''anabolic-androgenic steroids''' ('''AAS'''), are drugs that are structurally related to the cyclic [[steroid]] ring system and have similar effects to [[testosterone]] in the body. They increase protein within cells, especially in [[skeletal muscle]]s. Anabolic steroids also have [[androgen]]ic and [[virilization|virilizing]] properties, including the development and maintenance of [[Masculinity|masculine]] characteristics such as the growth of the [[vocal fold|vocal cords]], testicles (primary sexual characteristics) and body hair (secondary sexual characteristics). The word ''anabolic'' comes from the Greek ἀναβολή ''anabole'', "that which is thrown up, mound", and the word ''androgenic'' from the Greek ἀνδρός ''andros'', "of a man" + -γενής ''-genes'', "born".

Anabolic steroids were first made in the 1930s, and are now used therapeutically in medicine to stimulate muscle growth and appetite, induce male [[puberty]] and treat chronic [[wasting]] conditions, such as [[cancer]] and [[AIDS]]. The [[American College of Sports Medicine]] acknowledges that AAS, in the presence of adequate diet, can contribute to increases in body weight, often as lean mass increases and that the gains in muscular strength achieved through high-intensity exercise and proper diet can be additionally increased by the use of AAS in some individuals.<ref>Michael Powers, "Performance-Enhancing Drugs" in Joel Houglum, in Gary L. Harrelson, Deidre Leaver-Dunn, "Principles of Pharmacology for Athletic Trainers", SLACK Incorporated, 2005, ISBN 1-55642-594-5, p. 330</ref>

Health risks can be produced by long-term use or excessive doses of anabolic steroids.<ref name="BarrettConnor1995">{{cite journal
|author=Barrett-Connor E
|title=Testosterone and risk factors for cardiovascular disease in men
|journal=Diabete Metab
|volume=21
|issue=3
|pages=156–61
|year=1995
|pmid=7556805
}}</ref><ref name="Yamamoto2006">{{cite journal
|author=Yamamoto Y, Moore R, Hess H, Guo G, Gonzalez F, Korach K, Maronpot R, Negishi M
|title=Estrogen receptor alpha mediates 17alpha-ethynylestradiol causing hepatotoxicity
|journal=J Biol Chem
|volume=281
|issue=24
|pages=16625–31
|year=2006
|pmid=16606610
|doi=10.1074/jbc.M602723200
}}</ref> These effects include harmful changes in [[cholesterol]] levels (increased [[low-density lipoprotein]] and decreased [[high-density lipoprotein]]), [[Acne vulgaris|acne]], [[high blood pressure]], [[hepatotoxicity|liver damage]] (mainly with oral steroids), and dangerous changes in the structure of the [[left ventricle]] of the heart.<ref name="De1991">{{cite journal
|author=De Piccoli B, Giada F, Benettin A, Sartori F, Piccolo E
|title=Anabolic steroid use in body builders: an echocardiographic study of left ventricle morphology and function
|journal=Int J Sports Med
|volume=12
|issue=4
|pages=408–12
|year=1991
|pmid=1917226
|doi=10.1055/s-2007-1024703
}}</ref> Conditions pertaining to hormonal imbalances such as [[gynecomastia]] and [[testicular atrophy]] may also be caused by anabolic steroids.

[[Ergogenic aid|Ergogenic]] uses for anabolic steroids in sports, racing, and [[bodybuilding]] as [[performance-enhancing drugs]] are controversial because of their adverse effects and the potential to gain unfair advantage is considered cheating. Their use is referred to as [[Use of performance-enhancing drugs in sport|doping]] and banned by all major sporting bodies. For many years, AAS have been by far the most detected doping substances in [[IOC]]-accredited laboratories.<ref name="Hartgens and Kuipers 2004">{{cite journal | author = Hartgens F, Kuipers H | title = Effects of androgenic-anabolic steroids in athletes | journal = Sports Med | volume = 34 | issue = 8 | pages = 513–54 | year = 2004 | pmid = 15248788 | doi = 10.2165/00007256-200434080-00003 }}</ref><ref name=Kicman/> In countries where AAS are [[controlled substances]], there is often a [[black market]] in which smuggled, clandestinely manufactured or even [[counterfeit drugs]] are sold to users.

== List of anabolic steroids ==
{{see also|List of steroid abbreviations}}

===Exogenous anabolic androgenic steroids ===
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break|width=50%}}
*[[1-Androstenediol]]
*[[1-Androstenedione]]
*[[Bolandiol]]
*[[Bolasterone]]
*[[Boldenone]]
*[[Boldione]]
*[[Calusterone]]
*[[Clostebol]]
*[[Danazol]]
*[[Dehydrochlormethyltestosterone]]
*[[Desoxymethyltestosterone]]
*[[Drostanolone]]
*[[Ethylestrenol]]
*[[Fluoxymesterone]]
*[[Formebolone]]
*[[Furazabol]]
*[[Gestrinone]]
*[[4-Hydroxytestosterone]]
*[[Mestanolone]]
*[[Mesterolone]]
*[[Metenolone]]
*[[Methandienone]]
*[[Methandriol]]
{{col-break|width=50%}}
*[[Methasterone]]
*[[Methyldienolone]]
*[[Methyl-1-testosterone]]
*[[Methylnortestosterone]]
*[[Methyltestosterone]]
*[[Metribolone]]
*[[Mibolerone]]
*[[Nandrolone]]
*[[19-Norandrostenedione]]
*[[Norboletone]]
*[[Norclostebol]]
*[[Norethandrolone]]
*[[Oxabolone]]
*[[Oxandrolone]]
*[[Oxymesterone]]
*[[Oxymetholone]]
*[[Prostanozol]]
*[[Quinbolone]]
*[[Stanozolol]]
*[[Stenbolone]]
*[[1-Testosterone]]
*[[Tetrahydrogestrinone]]
*[[Trenbolone]]
{{col-end}}

=== Endogenous anabolic androgenic steroids ===
*[[Androstenediol]]
*[[Androstenedione]]
*[[Dihydrotestosterone]]
*[[Prasterone]] (dehydroepiandrosterone DHEA)
*[[Testosterone]]

==== Metabolites and isomers ====
Metabolites and isomers of endogenous anabolic androgenic steroids, including, but not limited to:
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break|width=50%}}
* 5α-Androstane-3α,17α-diol
* 5α-Androstane-3α,17β-diol
* 5α-Androstane-3β,17α-diol
* [[5α-Androstane-3β,17β-diol]]
* Androst-4-ene-3α,17α-diol
* Androst-4-ene-3α,17β-diol
* Androst-4-ene-3β,17α-diol
* Androst-4-ene-3β,17α-diol
* Androst-5-ene-3α,17α-diol
* [[Androst-5-ene-3α,17β-diol]]
* [[Androst-5-ene-3β,17α-diol]]
{{col-break|width=50%}}
* [[4-Androstenediol]]
* [[5-Androstenedione]]
* [[Epi-dihydrotestosterone]]
* [[Epitestosterone]]
* [[3α-Hydroxy-5α-androstan-17-one]]
* [[3β-Hydroxy-5α-androstan-17-one]]
* [[7α-Hydroxy-DHEA]]
* [[7β-Hydroxy-DHEA]]
* [[7-Keto-DHEA]]
* [[19-Norandrosterone]]
* [[19-Noretiocholanolone]]
{{col-end}}

== Pharmacology ==

=== Routes of administrations ===
[[File:Depo-testosterone 200 mg ml.jpg|thumb|upright|A vial of injectable testosterone cypionate]]
There are four common forms in which anabolic steroids are administered: oral pills; injectable steroids; creams/gels for topical application; and skin patches. Oral administration is the most convenient. Testosterone administered by mouth is rapidly absorbed, but it is largely converted to inactive metabolites, and only about 1/6 is available in active form. In order to be sufficiently active when given by mouth, testosterone derivatives are alkylated at the 17 position, e.g. [[methyltestosterone]] and [[fluoxymesterone]]. This modification reduces the liver's ability to break down these compounds before they reach the systemic circulation.

Testosterone can be administered [[Parenteral medication|parenterally]], but it has more irregular prolonged absorption time and greater activity in muscle[[enanthate]], [[undecanoate]], or [[cypionate]] [[ester]] form. These derivatives are hydrolyzed to release free testosterone at the site of injection; absorption rate (and thus injection schedule) varies among different esters, but medical injections are normally done anywhere between semi-weekly to once every 12 weeks. A more frequent schedule may be desirable in order to maintain a more constant level of hormone in the system.<ref name=Chr/> Injectable steroids are typically administered into the muscle, not into the vein, to avoid sudden changes in the amount of the drug in the bloodstream. In addition, because estered testosterone is dissolved in oil, intravenous injection has the potential to cause a dangerous [[embolism]] (clot) in the bloodstream.

[[Transdermal patch]]es (adhesive patches placed on the skin) may also be used to deliver a steady dose through the skin and into the bloodstream. Testosterone-containing creams and gels that are applied daily to the skin are also available, but absorption is inefficient (roughly 10%, varying between individuals) and these treatments tend to be more expensive. Individuals who are especially physically active and/or bathe often may not be good candidates, since the medication can be washed off and may take up to six hours to be fully absorbed. There is also the risk that an intimate partner or child may come in contact with the application site and inadvertently dose himself or herself; children and women are highly sensitive to testosterone and can suffer unintended masculinization and health effects, even from small doses. Injection is the most common method used by individuals administering anabolic steroids for non-medical purposes.<ref name="Cohen2007"/>

The traditional routes of administration do not have differential effects on the efficacy of the drug. Studies indicate that the anabolic properties of anabolic steroids are relatively similar despite the differences in pharmacokinetic principles such as [[first-pass effect|first-pass metabolism]]. However, the orally available forms of AAS may cause [[hepatotoxicity|liver damage]] in high doses.<ref name=Kicman>{{cite journal | author=Kicman AT, Gower DB | title=Anabolic steroids in sport: biochemical, clinical and analytical perspectives | journal=Ann. Clin. Biochem. | volume=40 | issue=Pt 4 | pages=321–56 |date=July 2003 | pmid=12880534 | doi=10.1258/000456303766476977 | url=http://acb.sagepub.com/content/40/4/321 }}{{closed access}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal
|author=Mutzebaugh C
|title=Does the choice of alpha-AAS really make a difference?
|journal=HIV Hotline
|volume=8
|issue=5–6
|pages=10–1
|year=1998
|pmid=11366379
}}</ref>

=== Mechanism of action ===
{{See also|Steroid hormone}}
[[File:Steroid receptor.png|thumb|The human [[androgen receptor]] bound to [[testosterone]]<ref>{{cite journal |author=Pereira de Jésus-Tran K, Côté PL, Cantin L, Blanchet J, Labrie F, Breton R |title=Comparison of crystal structures of human androgen receptor ligand-binding domain complexed with various agonists reveals molecular determinants responsible for binding affinity |journal=Protein Sci. |volume=15 |issue=5 |pages=987–99 |year=2006 |pmid=16641486 |doi=10.1110/ps.051905906 |pmc=2242507}}</ref> The protein is shown as a [[Secondary structure|ribbon diagram]] in red, green, and blue, with the steroid shown in white.]]
The [[pharmacodynamics]] of anabolic steroids are unlike [[peptide]] hormones. Water-soluble peptide hormones cannot penetrate the fatty [[cell membrane]] and only indirectly affect the [[cell nucleus|nucleus]] of target [[Cell (biology)|cells]] through their interaction with the cell’s surface [[Receptor (biochemistry)|receptors]]. However, as fat-soluble hormones, anabolic steroids are membrane-permeable and influence the nucleus of cells by direct action. The pharmacodynamic action of anabolic steroids begin when the exogenous hormone penetrates the membrane of the target cell and binds to an [[androgen receptor]] located in the [[cytoplasm]] of that cell. From there, the compound hormone-receptor diffuses into the nucleus, where it either alters the [[gene expression|expression]] of [[gene]]s<ref>{{cite journal
|author=Lavery DN, McEwan IJ
|title=Structure and function of steroid receptor AF1 transactivation domains: induction of active conformations
|journal=Biochem. J. |volume=391 |issue=Pt 3 |pages=449–64 |year=2005
|pmid=16238547
|doi=10.1042/BJ20050872
|pmc=1276946}}</ref> or activates processes that [[signal transduction|send signals]] to other parts of the cell.<ref>{{cite journal
|author=Cheskis B
|title=Regulation of cell signalling cascades by steroid hormones
|journal=J. Cell. Biochem.
|volume=93
|issue=1
|pages=20–7
|year=2004
|pmid=15352158
|doi=10.1002/jcb.20180
}}</ref> Different types of anabolic steroids bind to the androgen receptor with different [[Dissociation constant|affinities]], depending on their chemical structure.<ref name="Hartgens and Kuipers 2004"/> Some anabolic steroids such as [[methandrostenolone]] bind weakly to this receptor in vitro, but still exhibit androgenic effects in vivo. The reason for this discrepancy is not known.<ref name="pmid9593936">{{cite journal
|author=Roselli CE
|title=The effect of anabolic-androgenic steroids on aromatase activity and androgen receptor binding in the rat preoptic area
|journal=Brain Res.
|volume=792
|issue=2
|pages=271–6
|year=1998
|pmid=9593936
|doi=10.1016/S0006-8993(98)00148-6
}}</ref>

The effect of anabolic steroids on muscle mass is caused in at least two ways:<ref>{{cite journal
|author=Brodsky I, Balagopal P, Nair K
|title=Effects of testosterone replacement on muscle mass and muscle protein synthesis in hypogonadal men—a clinical research center study
|journal=J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab.
|volume=81
|issue=10
|pages=3469–75
|year=1996
|pmid=8855787
|doi=10.1210/jc.81.10.3469
}}</ref> first, they increase the [[Protein biosynthesis|production of proteins]]; second, they reduce recovery time by blocking the effects of stress hormone [[cortisol]] on muscle tissue, so that [[catabolism]] of muscle is greatly reduced. It has been [[hypothesized]] that this reduction in muscle breakdown may occur through anabolic steroids inhibiting the action of other steroid hormones called [[glucocorticoid]]s that promote the breakdown of muscles.<ref>{{cite journal
|author=Hickson R, Czerwinski S, Falduto M, Young A
|title=Glucocorticoid antagonism by exercise and androgenic-anabolic steroids
|journal=Med Sci Sports Exerc
|volume=22
|issue=3
|pages=331–40
|year=1990
|pmid=2199753
|doi=10.1249/00005768-199006000-00010
}}</ref> Anabolic steroids also affect the number of cells that develop into fat-storage cells, by favouring [[cellular differentiation]] into muscle cells instead.<ref>{{cite journal
|author=Singh R, Artaza J, Taylor W, Gonzalez-Cadavid N, Bhasin S
|title=Androgens stimulate myogenic differentiation and inhibit adipogenesis in C3H 10T1/2 pluripotent cells through an androgen receptor-mediated pathway
|journal=Endocrinology
|volume=144
|issue=11
|pages=5081–8
|year=2003
|pmid=12960001
|doi=10.1210/en.2003-0741
}}</ref> Anabolic steroids can also decrease fat by increasing [[basal metabolic rate]] (BMR), since an increase in muscle mass increases BMR.

=== Anabolic and androgenic effects ===

{| class="wikitable" style="float:right; font-size:92%; margin-left:12px;"
|-
|+ Relative androgenic:anabolic<br />activity in animals<ref name=Chr/>
|-
! Preparation !! Ratio
|-
| [[Testosterone]] || 1:1
|-
| [[Methyltestosterone]] || 1:1
|-
| [[Fluoxymesterone]] || 1:2
|-
| [[Oxymetholone]] || 1:3
|-
| [[Oxandrolone]] || 1:3–1:13
|-
| [[Nandrolone]] [[decanoate]] || 1:2.5–1:4
|}

As the name suggests, anabolic-androgenic steroids have two different, but overlapping, types of effects: ''anabolic'', meaning that they promote [[anabolism]] (cell growth), and ''[[androgen]]ic'' (or ''[[virilization|virilising]]''), meaning that they affect the development and maintenance of masculine characteristics.

Some examples of the anabolic effects of these hormones are increased [[Protein biosynthesis|protein synthesis]] from [[amino acid]]s, increased appetite, increased bone remodeling and growth, and stimulation of [[bone marrow]], which increases the production of [[red blood cell]]s. Through a number of [[Anabolic steroid#Mechanism of action|mechanisms]] anabolic steroids stimulate the formation of muscle cells and hence cause an increase in the size of [[skeletal muscles]], leading to increased strength.<ref>{{cite journal
|author=Schroeder E, Vallejo A, Zheng L, et al.
|title=Six-week improvements in muscle mass and strength during androgen therapy in older men
|journal=J Gerontol a Biol Sci Med Sci
|volume=60
|issue=12
|pages=1586–92
|year=2005
|pmid=16424293
|doi=10.1093/gerona/60.12.1586
}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal
|author=Grunfeld C, Kotler D, Dobs A, Glesby M, Bhasin S
|title=Oxandrolone in the treatment of HIV-associated weight loss in men: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study
|journal=J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr
|volume=41
|issue=3
|pages=304–14
|year=2006
|pmid=16540931
|doi=10.1097/01.qai.0000197546.56131.40
}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal
|author=Giorgi A, Weatherby R, Murphy P
|title=Muscular strength, body composition and health responses to the use of testosterone enanthate: a double blind study
|journal=Journal of science and medicine in sport / Sports Medicine Australia
|volume=2
|issue=4
|pages=341–55
|year=1999
|pmid=10710012
|doi=10.1016/S1440-2440(99)80007-3
}}</ref>

The [[androgenic]] effects of AAS are numerous. Depending on the length of use, the side effects of the steroid can be irreversible. Processes affected include pubertal growth, [[sebaceous gland]] oil production, and sexuality (especially in fetal development). Some examples of virilizing effects are [[clitoral hypertrophy|growth of the clitoris]] in females and the [[penis]] in male children (the adult penis size does not change due to steroids{{medcn|date=March 2013}} ), increased [[vocal cord]] size, increased [[libido]], suppression of [[endogenous|natural]] [[sex hormone]]s, and impaired [[spermatogenesis|production of sperm]].<ref name="DoirpMissing">{{cite journal | author = Kuhn CM | title = Anabolic steroids | journal = Recent Prog. Horm. Res. | volume = 57 | issue = | pages = 411–34 | year = 2002 | pmid = 12017555 | doi = 10.1210/rp.57.1.411 }}</ref> Effects on women include deepening of the voice, facial hair growth, and possibly a decrease in breast size. Men may develop an enlargement of breast tissue, known as gynecomastia, testicular atrophy, and a reduced sperm count.<ref name=casapalmera>{{cite web | title=How Anabolic Steroids Alter Both Men And Women | url=http://casapalmera.com/types-symptoms-and-effects-of-anabolic-steroid-use/ | accessdate=2 January 2014 | deadurl=no | archiveurl=http://archive.is/T33be | archivedate=2 January 2014 }}</ref>

The androgenic:anabolic ratio of an AAS is an important factor when determining the clinical application of these compounds. Compounds with a high ratio of androgenic to an anabolic effects are the drug of choice in androgen-replacement therapy (e.g., treating [[hypogonadism]] in males), whereas compounds with a reduced androgenic:anabolic ratio are preferred for anemia and osteoporosis, and to reverse protein loss following trauma, surgery, or prolonged immobilization. Determination of androgenic:anabolic ratio is typically performed in animal studies, which has led to the marketing of some compounds claimed to have anabolic activity with weak androgenic effects. This disassociation is less marked in humans, where all anabolic steroids have significant androgenic effects.<ref name=Chr>George P. Chrousos, The gonadal hormones and inhibitors, in Bertram G. Katzung (Ed.), Basic and Clinical Pharmacology, McGraw-Hill Professional, 2006, ISBN 0-07-145153-6, p. 674–676</ref>

A commonly used protocol for determining the androgenic:anabolic ratio, dating back to the 1950s, uses the relative weights of ventral [[prostate]] (VP) and [[levator ani]] muscle (LA) of male [[Laboratory rat|rats]]. The VP weight is an indicator of the androgenic effect, while the LA weight is an indicator of the anabolic effect. Two or more batches of rats are [[castrated]] and given no treatment and respectively some AAS of interest. The ''LA/VP ratio'' for an AAS is calculated as the ratio of LA/VP weight gains produced by the treatment with that compound using castrated but untreated rats as baseline: (LA<sub>c,t</sub>–LA<sub>c</sub>)/(VP<sub>c,t</sub>–VP<sub>c</sub>). The LA/VP weight gain ratio from rat experiments is not unitary for testosterone (typically 0.3–0.4), but it is normalized for presentation purposes, and used as basis of comparison for other AAS, which have their androgenic:anabolic ratios scaled accordingly (as shown in the table above).<ref name=pmid9593936/><ref>L.G. Hershberger, E.G. Shipley, R.K. Meyer, Myotropic activity of 19-nortestosterone and other steroids determined by modified levator ani muscle method, Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med. 83 (1953), 175–180</ref> In the early 2000s, this procedure was standardized and generalized throughout [[OECD]] in what is now known as the Hershberger assay.

==== Body composition and strength improvements ====
A review spanning more than three decades of experimental studies in men found that body weight may increase by 2–5&nbsp;kg as a result of short-term (<10 weeks) AAS use, which may be attributed mainly to an increase of lean mass. Animal studies also found that fat mass was reduced, but most studies in humans failed to elucidate significant fat mass decrements. The effects on lean body mass have been shown to be dose-dependent. Both [[muscle hypertrophy]] and the formation of new [[muscle fibers]] have been observed. The hydration of lean mass remains unaffected by AAS use, although small increments of blood volume cannot be ruled out.<ref name="Hartgens and Kuipers 2004"/>

The upper region of the body (thorax, neck, shoulders, and upper arm) seems to be more susceptible for AAS than other body regions because of predominance of androgen receptors in the upper body. The largest difference in muscle fiber size between AAS users and non-users was observed in type I muscle fibers of the [[vastus lateralis]] and the [[trapezius muscle]] as a result of long-term AAS self-administration. After drug withdrawal, the effects fade away slowly, but may persist for more than 6–12 weeks after cessation of AAS use.<ref name="Hartgens and Kuipers 2004"/>

The same review observed strength improvements in the range of 5–20% of baseline strength, depending largely on the drugs and dose used as well as the administration period. Overall, the exercise where the most significant improvements were observed is the [[bench press]].<ref name="Hartgens and Kuipers 2004"/> For almost two decades, it was assumed that AAS exerted significant effects only in experienced strength athletes, particularly based on the studies of Hervey and coworkers.<ref name="pmid61389">{{cite journal | author= Hervey GR, Hutchinson I, Knibbs AV, Burkinshaw L, Jones PR, Norgan NG, Levell MJ | title="Anabolic" effects of methandienone in men undergoing athletic training | journal=[[The Lancet|Lancet]] | volume=2 | issue=7988 | pages=699–702 |date=October 1976 | pmid=61389 | doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(76)90001-5 | url=http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(76)90001-5/abstract }}{{closed access}}</ref><ref name="pmid7018798">{{cite journal |author=HHervey GR, Knibbs AV, Burkinshaw L, Morgan DB, Jones PR, Chettle DR, Vartsky D |title=Effects of methandienone on the performance and body composition of men undergoing athletic training |journal=Clin. Sci. |volume=60 |issue=4 |pages=457–61 |date=April 1981 |pmid=7018798 |doi= |url=}}</ref> In 1996, a randomized controlled trial published in the ''[[New England Journal of Medicine]]'' demonstrated, however, that even in novice athletes a 10-week strength training program accompanied by [[testosterone enanthate]] at 600&nbsp;mg/week may improve strength more than training alone does.<ref name="Hartgens and Kuipers 2004"/><ref name="Bhasin1"/> The same study found that dose to be sufficient to significantly improve lean muscle mass relative to placebo even in subjects that did not exercise at all.<ref name="Bhasin1"/> A 2001 study by the same first author, showed that the anabolic effects of testosterone enanthate were highly dose dependent.<ref name="Hartgens and Kuipers 2004"/><ref name="pmid11701431">{{cite journal | author = Bhasin S, Woodhouse L, Casaburi R, Singh AB, Bhasin D, Berman N, Chen X, Yarasheski KE, Magliano L, Dzekov C, Dzekov J, Bross R, Phillips J, Sinha-Hikim I, Shen R, Storer TW | title = Testosterone dose-response relationships in healthy young men | journal = Am. J. Physiol. Endocrinol. Metab. | volume = 281 | issue = 6 | pages = E1172–81 |date=December 2001 | pmid = 11701431 | doi = }}</ref>

== Medical and ergogenic uses ==

=== Medical uses ===
[[File:Anabolicsteroids41.jpg|thumb|Various anabolic steroids and related compounds]]
Since the discovery and synthesis of testosterone in the 1930s, anabolic steroids have been used by physicians for many purposes, with varying degrees of success, for the treatment of:
* [[Bone marrow]] stimulation: For decades, anabolic steroids were the mainstay of therapy for [[hypoplastic]] [[anemia]]s due to [[leukemia]] or [[kidney failure]], especially [[aplastic anemia]].<ref name=Basaria>{{cite journal | author = Basaria S, Wahlstrom JT, Dobs AS | title = Clinical review 138: Anabolic-androgenic steroid therapy in the treatment of chronic diseases | journal = J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. | volume = 86 | issue = 11 | pages = 5108–17 |date=November 2001 | pmid = 11701661 | doi = 10.1210/jcem.86.11.7983 }}</ref> Anabolic steroids have largely been replaced in this setting by synthetic protein hormones (such as [[epoetin alfa]]) that selectively stimulate growth of [[Hematopoietic stem cell|blood cell precursors]].
* [[Human development (biology)|Growth]] stimulation: Anabolic steroids can be used by [[pediatric endocrinology|pediatric endocrinologists]] to treat children with [[growth failure]].<ref>{{cite journal |author=Ranke MB, Bierich JR |title=Treatment of growth hormone deficiency |journal=Clinics in endocrinology and metabolism |volume=15 |issue=3 |pages=495–510 |year=1986 |pmid=2429792 |doi=10.1016/S0300-595X(86)80008-1}}</ref> However, the availability of synthetic [[growth hormone treatment|growth hormone]], which has fewer side effects, makes this a secondary treatment.
* Stimulation of [[appetite]] and preservation and increase of [[muscle]] mass: Anabolic steroids have been given to people with [[cachexia|chronic wasting conditions]] such as [[cancer]] and [[AIDS]].<ref>{{cite journal
|author=Grunfeld C, Kotler D, Dobs A, Glesby M, Bhasin S
|title=Oxandrolone in the treatment of HIV-associated weight loss in men: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study
|journal=J. Acquir. Immune Defic. Syndr.
|volume=41
|issue=3
|pages=304–14
|year=2006
|pmid=16540931
|doi=10.1097/01.qai.0000197546.56131.40
}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Berger JR, Pall L, Hall CD, Simpson DM, Berry PS, Dudley R |title=Oxandrolone in AIDS-wasting myopathy |journal=AIDS |volume=10 |issue=14 |pages=1657–62 |year=1996 |pmid=8970686 |doi=10.1097/00002030-199612000-00010}}</ref>
* Induction of male [[puberty]]: Androgens are given to many boys distressed about extreme [[delayed puberty|delay of puberty]]. Testosterone is now nearly the only androgen used for this purpose and has been shown to increase height, weight, and fat-free mass in boys with delayed puberty.<ref>{{cite journal
|author=Arslanian S, Suprasongsin C
|title=Testosterone treatment in adolescents with delayed puberty: changes in body composition, protein, fat, and glucose metabolism
|journal=J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab.
|volume=82
|issue=10
|pages=3213–20
|year=1997
|pmid=9329341
|doi=10.1210/jc.82.10.3213
}}</ref>
* [[Male contraceptive|Male contraception]], in the form of [[testosterone enanthate]]; potential for use in the near-future as a safe, reliable, and reversible male contraceptive.<ref name="administration282"/><ref>{{cite journal
|author=Aribarg A, Sukcharoen N, Chanprasit Y, Ngeamvijawat J, Kriangsinyos R
|title=Suppression of spermatogenesis by testosterone enanthate in Thai men
|journal=Journal of the Medical Association of Thailand = Chotmaihet thangphaet
|volume=79
|issue=10
|pages=624–9
|year=1996
|pmid=8996996
}}</ref>
* Stimulation of lean body mass and prevention of [[bone resorption|bone loss]] in elderly men, as some studies indicate.<ref name="pmid11320105">{{cite journal
|author=Kenny AM, Prestwood KM, Gruman CA, Marcello KM, Raisz LG
|title=Effects of transdermal testosterone on bone and muscle in older men with low bioavailable testosterone levels
|journal=J. Gerontol. A Biol. Sci. Med. Sci.
|volume=56
|issue=5
|pages=M266–72
|year=2001
|pmid=11320105
|doi=10.1093/gerona/56.5.M266
}}</ref><ref name="pmid17824721">{{cite journal
|author=Baum NH, Crespi CA
|title=Testosterone replacement in elderly men
|journal=Geriatrics
|volume=62
|issue=9
|pages=14–8
|year=2007
|pmid=17824721
|doi=
}}</ref><ref name="pmid11730258">{{cite journal
|author=Francis RM
|title=Androgen replacement in aging men
|journal=Calcif. Tissue Int.
|volume=69
|issue=4
|pages=235–8
|year=2001
|pmid=11730258
|doi=10.1007/s00223-001-1051-9
}}</ref> However, a 2006 placebo-controlled trial of low-dose testosterone supplementation in elderly men with low levels of testosterone found no benefit on body composition, physical performance, [[insulin sensitivity]], or [[quality of life]].<ref name="pmid17050889">{{cite journal | author = Nair KS, Rizza RA, O'Brien P, Dhatariya K, Short KR, Nehra A, Vittone JL, Klee GG, Basu A, Basu R, Cobelli C, Toffolo G, Dalla Man C, Tindall DJ, Melton LJ, Smith GE, Khosla S, Jensen MD | title = DHEA in elderly women and DHEA or testosterone in elderly men | journal = N. Engl. J. Med. | volume = 355 | issue = 16 | pages = 1647–59 |date=October 2006 | pmid = 17050889 | doi = 10.1056/NEJMoa054629 }}</ref>
* [[Androgen replacement therapy|Hormone replacement]] for men with [[hypogonadism|low levels of testosterone]]; also effective in improving libido for elderly males.<ref name="pmid17403329">{{cite journal | author = Shah K, Montoya C, Persons RK | title = Clinical inquiries. Do testosterone injections increase libido for elderly hypogonadal patients? | journal = J Fam Pract | volume = 56 | issue = 4 | pages = 301–3 |date=April 2007 | pmid = 17403329 | doi = }}</ref><ref name="pmid17367445">{{cite journal | author = Yassin AA, Saad F | title = Improvement of sexual function in men with late-onset hypogonadism treated with testosterone only | journal = J Sex Med | volume = 4 | issue = 2 | pages = 497–501 |date=March 2007 | pmid = 17367445 | doi = 10.1111/j.1743-6109.2007.00442.x }}</ref><ref name="pmid9497881">{{cite journal | author = Arver S, Dobs AS, Meikle AW, Caramelli KE, Rajaram L, Sanders SW, Mazer NA | title = Long-term efficacy and safety of a permeation-enhanced testosterone transdermal system in hypogonadal men | journal = Clin. Endocrinol. (Oxf) | volume = 47 | issue = 6 | pages = 727–37 |date=December 1997 | pmid = 9497881 | doi = 10.1046/j.1365-2265.1997.3071113.x }}</ref><ref name="pmid10619981">{{cite journal | author = Nieschlag E, Büchter D, Von Eckardstein S, Abshagen K, Simoni M, Behre HM | title = Repeated intramuscular injections of testosterone undecanoate for substitution therapy in hypogonadal men | journal = Clin. Endocrinol. (Oxf) | volume = 51 | issue = 6 | pages = 757–63 |date=December 1999 | pmid = 10619981 | doi = 10.1046/j.1365-2265.1999.00881.x }}</ref>
* [[Gender Identity Disorder]], by producing secondary male characteristics, such as a deeper voice, increased bone and muscle mass, facial hair, increased levels of [[red blood cells]], and [[clitoris|clitoral]] enlargement in [[Transman|female-to-male]] patients.<ref>{{cite journal | author = Moore E, Wisniewski A, Dobs A | title = Endocrine treatment of transsexual people: a review of treatment regimens, outcomes, and adverse effects | journal = J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. | volume = 88 | issue = 8 | pages = 3467–73 |date=August 2003 | pmid = 12915619 | doi = 10.1210/jc.2002-021967 }}</ref>

=== Ergogenic use and abuse ===
{{See also|Ergogenic use of anabolic steroids}}
[[File:Rawdealsteroids4.jpg|thumb|Numerous vials of injectable anabolic steroids]]
Most steroid users are not athletes.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2007/11/21/us-steroid-users-idUSCOL17558920071121 | title=Most steroid users are not athletes: study | publisher=Reuters | date=2007-11-21 | accessdate=2014-01-03 | deadurl=no | archiveurl=http://archive.is/55vRI | archivedate=2013-12-01 }}</ref> Between 1 million and 3 million people (1% of the population) are thought to have misused AAS in the United States.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Sjöqvist F, Garle M, Rane A |title=Use of doping agents, in particular anabolic steroids, in sports and society |journal=Lancet |volume=371 |issue=9627 |pages=1872–82 |date=May 2008 |pmid=18514731 |doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(08)60801-6 |url=}}</ref> Studies in the United States have shown that anabolic steroid users tend to be mostly middle-class [[heterosexual]] men with a [[median]] age of about 25 who are noncompetitive bodybuilders and non-athletes and use the drugs for cosmetic purposes.<ref name="pmid8355384">{{cite journal
|author=Yesalis CE, Kennedy NJ, Kopstein AN, Bahrke MS
|title=Anabolic-androgenic steroid use in the United States
|journal=JAMA
|volume=270
|issue=10
|pages=1217–21
|year=1993
|pmid=8355384
|doi=10.1001/jama.270.10.1217
}}"</ref> "Among 12- to 17-year-old boys, use of steroids and similar drugs jumped 25 percent from 1999 to 2000, with 20 percent saying they use them for looks rather than sports, a study by insurer Blue Cross Blue Shield found."(Eisenhauer)<ref Another study found that non-medical use of AAS among college students was at or less than 1%.<ref name="pmid17512138">{{cite journal
|author=McCabe SE, Brower KJ, West BT, Nelson TF, Wechsler H
|title=Trends in non-medical use of anabolic steroids by U.S. college students: Results from four national surveys
|journal=Drug and alcohol dependence
|volume=90
|issue=2–3
|pages=243–51
|year=2007
|pmid=17512138
|doi=10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2007.04.004
|pmc=2383927
}}</ref> According to a recent survey, 78.4% of steroid users were noncompetitive bodybuilders and non-athletes, while about 13% reported unsafe injection practices such as reusing needles, sharing needles, and sharing multidose vials,<ref name="pmid16679978">{{cite journal | author = Parkinson AB, Evans NA | title = Anabolic androgenic steroids: a survey of 500 users | journal = Med Sci Sports Exerc | volume = 38 | issue = 4 | pages = 644–51 |date=April 2006 | pmid = 16679978 | doi = 10.1249/01.mss.0000210194.56834.5d }}</ref> though a 2007 study found that sharing of needles was extremely uncommon among individuals using anabolic steroids for non-medical purposes, less than 1%.<ref name="Cohen2007"/> Another 2007 study found that 74% of non-medical anabolic steroid users had secondary college degrees and more had completed college and fewer had failed to complete high school than is expected from the general populace.<ref name=Cohen2007>{{cite journal | author = Cohen J, Collins R, Darkes J, Gwartney D | title = A league of their own: demographics, motivations and patterns of use of 1,955 male adult non-medical anabolic steroid users in the United States | journal = J Int Soc Sports Nutr | volume = 4 | issue = | page = 12 | year = 2007 | pmid = 17931410 | pmc = 2131752 | doi = 10.1186/1550-2783-4-12 }}</ref> The same study found that individuals using anabolic steroids for non-medical purposes had a higher employment rate and a higher household income than the general population.<ref name="Cohen2007"/> Anabolic steroid users tend to research the drugs they are taking more than other controlled-substance users; however, the major sources consulted by steroid users include friends, non-medical handbooks, internet-based forums, blogs, and fitness magazines, which can provide questionable or inaccurate information.<ref name="Copeland2007">{{cite journal | author = Copeland J, Peters R, Dillon P | title = A study of 100 anabolic-androgenic steroid users | journal = Med. J. Aust. | volume = 168 | issue = 6 | pages = 311–2 |date=March 1998 | pmid = 9549549 | doi = }}</ref>

Anabolic steroid users tend to be disillusioned by the portrayal of anabolic steroids as deadly in the media and in politics.<ref>{{cite web
| last =Eastley
| first =Tony
| title = Steroid study debunks user stereotypes
| publisher = [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation|ABC]]
| date = January 18, 2006
| url = http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2006/s1550328.htm
| accessdate = 2014-01-03
| deadurl = no
| archiveurl=http://archive.is/DBad
| archivedate = 2012-07-16 }}</ref> According to one study, AAS users also distrust their physicians and in the sample 56% had not disclosed their AAS use to their physicians.<ref name="pmid15317640">{{cite journal | author = Pope HG, Kanayama G, Ionescu-Pioggia M, Hudson JI | title = Anabolic steroid users' attitudes towards physicians | journal = [[Addiction (journal)|Addiction]] | volume = 99 | issue = 9 | pages = 1189–94 |date=September 2004 | pmid = 15317640 | doi = 10.1111/j.1360-0443.2004.00781.x }}</ref> Another 2007 study had similar findings, showing that, while 66% of individuals using anabolic steroids for non-medical purposes were willing to seek medical supervision for their steroid use, 58% lacked trust in their physicians, 92% felt that the medical community's knowledge of non-medical anabolic steroid use was lacking, and 99% felt that the public has an exaggerated view of the side-effects of anabolic steroid use.<ref name="Cohen2007"/> A recent study has also shown that long term AAS users were more likely to have symptoms of [[muscle dysmorphia]] and also showed stronger endorsement of more conventional male roles.<ref name="pmid16585446">{{cite journal | author = Kanayama G, Barry S, Hudson JI, Pope HG | title = Body image and attitudes toward male roles in anabolic-androgenic steroid users | journal = Am J Psychiatry | volume = 163 | issue = 4 | pages = 697–703 |date=April 2006 | pmid = 16585446 | doi = 10.1176/appi.ajp.163.4.697 }}</ref>

Anabolic steroids have been used by men and women in many different kinds of professional sports to attain a competitive edge or to assist in recovery from injury. These sports include [[bodybuilding]], [[Olympic weightlifting|weightlifting]], [[shot put]] and other [[track and field]], [[cycling]], [[baseball]], [[wrestling]], [[mixed martial arts]], [[boxing]], [[football]], and [[cricket]]. Such use is prohibited by the rules of the governing bodies of most sports. Anabolic steroid use occurs among adolescents, especially by those participating in competitive sports. It has been suggested that the prevalence of use among high-school students in the U.S. may be as high as 2.7%.<ref>{{cite journal
|author=Hickson R, Czerwinski S, Falduto M, Young A
|title=Glucocorticoid antagonism by exercise and androgenic-anabolic steroids
|journal=Medicine and science in sports and exercise
|volume=22
|issue=3
|pages=331–40
|year=1990
|pmid=2199753
|doi=10.1249/00005768-199006000-00010
}}</ref> Male students used anabolic steroids more frequently than female students and, on average, those that participated in sports used steroids more often than those that did not.

== Adverse effects ==
Anabolic steroid can cause many [[adverse effect]]s.

=== Neuropsychiatric ===
<!-- "Roid rage" redirects here. If you change this headline, please edit "Roid rage" to point to the new article title. -->
A 2005 review in ''[[CNS Drugs]]'' determined that "significant psychiatric symptoms including aggression and violence, [[mania]], and less frequently [[psychosis]] and suicide have been associated with steroid [[drug abuse|abuse]]. Long-term steroid abusers may develop symptoms of [[Substance dependence|dependence]] and [[Drug withdrawal|withdrawal]] on discontinuation of AAS".<ref name="pmid15984895">{{cite journal |author=Trenton AJ, Currier GW |title=Behavioural manifestations of anabolic steroid use |journal=CNS Drugs |volume=19 |issue=7 |pages=571–95 |year=2005 |pmid=15984895 |doi= 10.2165/00023210-200519070-00002|url=}}</ref> High concentrations of AAS, comparable to those likely sustained by many recreational AAS users, produce [[apoptotic]] effects on [[neuron]]s, raising the specter of possibly irreversible neuropsychiatric toxicity. Recreational AAS use appears to be associated with a range of potentially prolonged psychiatric effects, including dependence syndromes, [[mood disorder]]s, and progression to other forms of substance abuse, but the prevalence and severity of these various effects remains poorly understood.<ref name=khp>{{cite journal |author=Kanayama G, Hudson JI, Pope HG |title=Long-Term Psychiatric and Medical Consequences of Anabolic-Androgenic Steroid Abuse: A Looming Public Health Concern? |journal=Drug Alcohol Depend |volume=98 |issue=1–2 |pages=1–12 |date=November 2008 |pmid=18599224 |doi=10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2008.05.004 |pmc=2646607}}</ref> There is no evidence that steroid dependence develops from ''therapeutic'' use of anabolic steroids to treat medical disorders, but instances of AAS dependence have been reported among weightlifters and bodybuilders who chronically administered supraphysiologic doses.<ref name="pmid12230967">{{cite journal |author=Brower KJ |title=Anabolic steroid abuse and dependence |journal=Curr Psychiatry Rep |volume=4 |issue=5 |pages=377–87 |date=October 2002 |pmid=12230967 |doi= 10.1007/s11920-002-0086-6|url=}}</ref> Mood disturbances (e.g. depression, [hypo-]mania, psychotic features) are likely to be dose- and drug-dependent, but AAS dependence or withdrawal effects seem to occur only in a small number of AAS users.<ref name="Hartgens and Kuipers 2004"/>

Large-scale long-term studies of psychiatric effects on AAS users are not currently available.<ref name=khp/> In 2003, the first naturalistic long-term study on ten users, seven of which having completed the study, found a high incidence of mood disorders and substance abuse, but few clinically relevant changes in physiological parameters or laboratory measures were noted throughout the study, and these changes were not clearly related to periods of reported AAS use.<ref name=Fudala>{{cite journal
|author=Fudala P, Weinrieb R, Calarco J, Kampman K, Boardman C
|title=An evaluation of anabolic-androgenic steroid abusers over a period of 1 year: seven case studies
|journal=Annals of Clinical Psychiatry
|volume=15
|issue=2
|pages=121–30
|year=2003
|pmid=12938869
|doi=10.3109/10401230309085677
}}</ref> A 13-month study, which was published in 2006 and which involved 320 body builders and athletes suggests that the wide range of psychiatric side-effects induced by the use of AAS is correlated to the severity of abuse.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Pagonis TA, Angelopoulos NV, Koukoulis GN, Hadjichristodoulou CS |title=Psychiatric side effects induced by supraphysiological doses of combinations of anabolic steroids correlate to the severity of abuse |journal=Eur. Psychiatry |volume=21 |issue=8 |pages=551–62 |year=2006 |pmid=16356691 |doi=10.1016/j.eurpsy.2005.09.001}}</ref>

====DSM assertion====
DSM-IV lists [[Personality disorder#Diagnosis|General diagnostic criteria]] for a personality disorder guideline that "The pattern must not be better accounted for as a manifestation of another mental disorder, or to the direct physiological effects of a substance (e.g. drug or medication) or a general medical condition (e.g. head trauma).". As a result anabolic steroid users may get misdiagnosed by psychiatrist not told about their habit.<ref name="Rashid et al 2007"/>

====Personality profiles====
Cooper, Noakes, Dunne, Lambert, and Rochford identified that anabolic–androgenic steroid (AAS) using individuals are more likely to score higher on [[Borderline personality disorder|borderline]] (4.7 times), [[Anti-social behaviour|antisocial]] (3.8 times), [[Paranoid personality disorder|paranoid]] (3.4 times), [[schizotypal personality disorder|schizotypal]] (3.1 times), [[Histrionic personality disorder|histrionic]] (2.9 times), [[Passive-aggressive personality disorder|passive-aggressive]] (2.4 times), and [[Narcissistic personality disorder|narcissistic]] (1.6 times) personality profiles than non-users.<ref name="pmid8889121">{{cite journal | author = Cooper CJ, Noakes TD, Dunne T, Lambert MI, Rochford K | title = A high prevalence of abnormal personality traits in chronic users of anabolic-androgenic steroids | journal = Br J Sports Med | volume = 30 | issue = 3 | pages = 246–50 |date=September 1996 | pmid = 8889121 | pmc = 1332342 | doi = 10.1136/bjsm.30.3.246 }}</ref> Other studies have suggested that antisocial personality disorder is slightly more likely among anabolic steroid users than among non-users (Pope & Katz, 1994).<ref name="Rashid et al 2007"/> [[Bipolar disorder|Bipolar]] dysfunction,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vitalquests.org/publication2steroiduse.html |title=Dr. Ritchi Morris |publisher=Vitalquests.org |accessdate=2013-12-01}}</ref> [[substance dependency]], and [[conduct disorder]] have also been associated with AAS use.<ref name="pmid19922565">{{cite journal | author = Kanayama G, Brower KJ, Wood RI, Hudson JI, Pope HG | title = Anabolic-androgenic steroid dependence: an emerging disorder | journal = Addiction | volume = 104 | issue = 12 | pages = 1966–78 |date=December 2009 | pmid = 19922565 | pmc = 2780436 | doi = 10.1111/j.1360-0443.2009.02734.x }}</ref>

====Mood and anxiety====
Affective disorders have long been recognised as a complication of anabolic steroid use. Case reports describe both hypomania and mania, along with irritability, elation, recklessness, racing thoughts and feelings of power and invincibility that did not meet the criteria for mania/hypomania.<ref name = "Eisenberg_Galloway_2005">{{cite book | author = Eisenberg ER, Galloway GP | chapter = Anabolic androgenic steroids | title = Substance Abuse: A Comprehensive Textbook | editor = Lowinson JH, Ruiz P, Millman RB | publisher = Lippincott Williams & Wilkins | asin = B0049VACMW }}</ref> Of 53 bodybuilders who used anabolic steroids, 27 (51%) reported unspecified mood disturbance.<ref name="Lindström_1990">{{cite journal | author = Lindström M, Nilsson AL, Katzman PL, Janzon L, Dymling JF | title = Use of anabolic-androgenic steroids among body builders--frequency and attitudes | journal = J. Intern. Med. | volume = 227 | issue = 6 | pages = 407–11 | year = 1990 | pmid = 2351927 | doi = 10.1111/j.1365-2796.1990.tb00179.x }}</ref>

===== Aggression and hypomania =====
{{anchor|roid rage}}
From the mid-1980s onward, the media reported '''"roid rage"''' as a side-effect of AAS.<ref>Pat Lenehan, "Anabolic Steroids: And Other Performance-enhancing Drugs", CRC Press, 2003, ISBN 0-415-28030-3, page 23</ref>

A 2005 review determined that some, but not all, randomized controlled studies have found that anabolic steroid use correlates with [[hypomania]] and increased aggressiveness, but pointed out that attempts to determine whether AAS use triggers violent behavior have failed, primarily because of high rates of non-participation.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Thiblin I, Petersson A |title=Pharmacoepidemiology of anabolic androgenic steroids: a review |journal=Fundam Clin Pharmacol |volume=19 |issue=1 |pages=27–44 |date=February 2005 |pmid=15660958 |doi=10.1111/j.1472-8206.2004.00298.x}}</ref> A 2008 study on a nationally representative sample of young adult males in the United States found an association between lifetime and past-year self-reported anabolic-androgenic steroid use and involvement in violent acts. Compared with individuals that did not use steroids, young adult males that used anabolic-androgenic steroids reported greater involvement in violent behaviors even after controlling for the effects of key demographic variables, previous violent behavior, and polydrug use.<ref name="pmid18923108">{{cite journal |author=Beaver KM, Vaughn MG, Delisi M, Wright JP |title=Anabolic-Androgenic Steroid Use and Involvement in Violent Behavior in a Nationally Representative Sample of Young Adult Males in the United States |journal=[[Am J Public Health]] |volume=98 |issue=12 |pages=2185–7 |date=December 2008 |pmid=18923108 |doi=10.2105/AJPH.2008.137018 |url=http://www.ajph.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=18923108 |pmc=2636528}}</ref> A 1996 review examining the [[Randomized control trial#Blind trials|blind studies]] available at that time also found that these had demonstrated a link between aggression and steroid use, but pointed out that with estimates of over one million past or current steroid users in the United States at that time, an extremely small percentage of those using steroids appear to have experienced mental disturbance severe enough to result in clinical treatments or medical case reports.<ref name="pmid8969015">{{cite journal | author = Bahrke MS, Yesalis CE, Wright JE | title = Psychological and behavioural effects of endogenous testosterone and anabolic-androgenic steroids. An update | journal = Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) | volume = 22 | issue = 6 | pages = 367–90 | year = 1996 | pmid = 8969015 | doi = 10.2165/00007256-199622060-00005 }}</ref>

A 1996 [[randomized controlled trial]], which involved 43 men, did not find an increase in the occurrence of angry behavior during 10 weeks of administration of [[testosterone enanthate]] at 600&nbsp;mg/week, but this study screened out subjects that had previously abused steroids or had any psychiatric antecedents.<ref name="Bhasin1">{{cite journal | author = Bhasin S, Storer TW, Berman N, Callegari C, Clevenger B, Phillips J, Bunnell TJ, Tricker R, Shirazi A, Casaburi R | title = The effects of supraphysiologic doses of testosterone on muscle size and strength in normal men | journal = N. Engl. J. Med. | volume = 335 | issue = 1 | pages = 1–7 |date=July 1996 | pmid = 8637535 | doi = 10.1056/NEJM199607043350101 }}</ref><ref name="pmid8855834">{{cite journal | author = Tricker R, Casaburi R, Storer TW, Clevenger B, Berman N, Shirazi A, Bhasin S | title = The effects of supraphysiological doses of testosterone on angry behavior in healthy eugonadal men--a clinical research center study | journal = J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. | volume = 81 | issue = 10 | pages = 3754–8 |date=October 1996 | pmid = 8855834 | doi = 10.1210/jcem.81.10.8855834 }}</ref> A trial conducted in 2000 using [[testosterone cypionate]] at 600&nbsp;mg/week found that treatment significantly increased [[mania|manic]] scores on the [[YMRS]], and aggressive responses on several scales. The drug response was highly variable. However: 84% of subjects exhibited minimal psychiatric effects, 12% became mildly hypomanic, and 4% (2 subjects) became markedly hypomanic. The mechanism of these variable reactions could not be explained by demographic, psychological, laboratory, or physiological measures.<ref name="pmid10665615">{{cite journal | author = Pope HG, Kouri EM, Hudson JI | title = Effects of supraphysiologic doses of testosterone on mood and aggression in normal men: a randomized controlled trial | journal = Arch. Gen. Psychiatry | volume = 57 | issue = 2 | pages = 133–40; discussion 155–6 |date=February 2000 | pmid = 10665615 | doi = 10.1001/archpsyc.57.2.133 | url = http://archpsyc.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=481565 }}{{open access}}</ref>

A 2006 study of two pairs of identical twins, in which one twin used anabolic steroids and the other did not, found that in both cases the steroid-using twin exhibited high levels of aggressiveness, hostility, anxiety, and paranoid ideation not found in the "control" twin.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Pagonis TA, Angelopoulos NV, Koukoulis GN, Hadjichristodoulou CS, Toli PN |title=Psychiatric and hostility factors related to use of anabolic steroids in monozygotic twins |journal=Eur. Psychiatry |volume=21 |issue=8 |pages=563–9 |year=2006 |pmid=16529916 |doi=10.1016/j.eurpsy.2005.11.002}}</ref> A small-scale study of 10 AAS users found that [[cluster B]] personality disorders were confounding factors for aggression.<ref name="pmid12762541">{{cite journal | author = Perry PJ, Kutscher EC, Lund BC, Yates WR, Holman TL, Demers L | title = Measures of aggression and mood changes in male weightlifters with and without androgenic anabolic steroid use | journal = J. Forensic Sci. | volume = 48 | issue = 3 | pages = 646–51 |date=May 2003 | pmid = 12762541 | doi = }}</ref>

===== Depression and suicide =====
The relationship between AAS use and depression is inconclusive. There have been anecdotal reports of depression and suicide in teenage steroid users,<ref>{{cite news |title=Teens & Steroids: A Dangerous Mix | date=2004-06-03 | publisher=CBS Broadcasting Inc. | url =http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/06/03/eveningnews/main620967.shtml | work =[[CBS]] | accessdate = 2007-06-27 | archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20070710161708/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/06/03/eveningnews/main620967.shtml| archivedate= 10 July 2007 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref> but little systematic evidence. A 1992 review found that anabolic-androgenic steroids may both relieve and cause depression, and that cessation or diminished use of anabolic-androgenic steroids may also result in depression, but called for additional studies due to disparate data.<ref name="pmid1551042">{{cite journal | author = Uzych L | title = Anabolic-androgenic steroids and psychiatric-related effects: a review | journal = Can J Psychiatry | volume = 37 | issue = 1 | pages = 23–8 |date=February 1992 | pmid = 1551042 | doi = }}</ref> In the case of suicide, 3.9% of a sample of 77 those classified as AAS users reported attempting suicide during withdrawal (Malone, Dimeff, Lombardo, & Sample, 1995).<ref>{{cite web|author= |url=http://thinksteroids.com/articles/anabolic-steroids-suicide/ |title=Anabolic Steroids and Suicide - A Brief Review of the Evidence |publisher=Thinksteroids.com |date=2005-07-12 |accessdate=2013-12-01}}</ref>

===Physiological===
Depending on the length of drug abuse, there is a chance that the immune system can be damaged. Most of these side-effects are dose-dependent, the most common being elevated [[blood pressure]], especially in those with pre-existing [[hypertension]],<ref>{{cite journal
|author=Grace F, Sculthorpe N, Baker J, Davies B
|title=Blood pressure and rate pressure product response in males using high-dose anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS)
|journal=J Sci Med Sport
|volume=6
|issue=3
|pages=307–12
|year=2003
|pmid=14609147
|doi=10.1016/S1440-2440(03)80024-5
}}</ref>

Anabolic steroids have been shown to alter fasting blood sugar and glucose tolerance tests.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?id=3607 |title=DailyMed: About DailyMed |publisher=Dailymed.nlm.nih.gov |accessdate=2008-11-03}}</ref> Anabolic steroids such as testosterone also increase the risk of [[cardiovascular disease]]<ref name="BarrettConnor1995" /> or [[coronary artery disease]].<ref>{{cite journal
|author=Bagatell C, Knopp R, Vale W, Rivier J, Bremner W
|title=Physiologic testosterone levels in normal men suppress high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels
|journal=Annals of Internal Medicine
|volume=116
|issue=12 Pt 1
|pages=967–73
|year=1992
|pmid=1586105
|doi=10.7326/0003-4819-116-12-967
}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Mewis C, Spyridopoulos I, Kühlkamp V, Seipel L |title=Manifestation of severe coronary heart disease after anabolic drug abuse |journal=Clinical Cardiology |volume=19 |issue=2 |pages=153–5 |year=1996 |pmid=8821428 |doi=10.1002/clc.4960190216}}</ref> [[Acne]] is fairly common among anabolic steroid users, mostly due to stimulation of the [[sebaceous gland]]s by increased testosterone levels.<ref name="Hartgens and Kuipers 2004"/><ref>{{cite journal |author=Melnik B, Jansen T, Grabbe S |title=Abuse of anabolic-androgenic steroids and bodybuilding acne: an underestimated health problem |journal=Journal der Deutschen Dermatologischen Gesellschaft = Journal of the German Society of Dermatology : JDDG |volume=5 |issue=2 |pages=110–7 |year=2007 |pmid=17274777 |doi=10.1111/j.1610-0387.2007.06176.x}}</ref> Conversion of testosterone to [[dihydrotestosterone]] (DHT) can accelerate the rate of premature [[baldness]] for males genetically predisposed, but testosterone itself can produce baldness in females.<ref name="pmid12870172">{{cite journal |author=Vierhapper H, Maier H, Nowotny P, Waldhäusl W |title=Production rates of testosterone and of dihydrotestosterone in female pattern hair loss |journal=Metab. Clin. Exp. |volume=52 |issue=7 |pages=927–9 |date=July 2003 |pmid=12870172 |url=http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S002604950300060X |doi=10.1016/S0026-0495(03)00060-X}}</ref>

A number of severe side-effects can occur if adolescents use anabolic steroids.

For example, the steroids may prematurely stop the lengthening of bones (premature [[epiphyseal plate|epiphyseal fusion]] through increased levels of estrogen [[metabolite]]s), resulting in [[stunted growth]]. Other effects include, but are not limited to, accelerated [[bone age|bone maturation]], increased frequency and duration of erections, and premature sexual development. Anabolic steroid use in adolescence is also [[correlated]] with poorer attitudes related to health.<ref>{{cite journal
|author=Irving L, Wall M, Neumark-Sztainer D, Story M
|title=Steroid use among adolescents: findings from Project EAT
|journal=The Journal of Adolescent Health
|volume=30
|issue=4
|pages=243–52
|year=2002
|pmid=11927236
|doi=10.1016/S1054-139X(01)00414-1
}}</ref>

====Cancer====
WHO organization [[International Agency for Research on Cancer]] (IARC) list Androgenic (anabolic) steroids under [[List of IARC Group 2A carcinogens|Group 2A]]: Probably carcinogenic to humans.<ref name="url_ACS_known_carcinogens">{{cite web | url = http://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancercauses/othercarcinogens/generalinformationaboutcarcinogens/known-and-probable-human-carcinogens | title = Known and Probable Human Carcinogens | author = | date = 2011-06-29 | publisher = American Cancer Society }}</ref>

====Cardiovascular====
Other side-effects can include alterations in the structure of the [[heart]], such as [[left ventricular hypertrophy|enlargement and thickening of the left ventricle]], which impairs its contraction and [[diastolic|relaxation]].<ref name="De1991" /> Possible effects of these alterations in the heart are hypertension, [[cardiac arrhythmia]]s, [[congestive heart failure]], [[myocardial infarction|heart attacks]], and [[sudden cardiac death]].<ref>{{cite journal |author=Sullivan ML, Martinez CM, Gallagher EJ |title=Atrial fibrillation and anabolic steroids |journal=The Journal of emergency medicine |volume=17 |issue=5 |pages=851–7 |year=1999 |pmid=10499702 |doi=10.1016/S0736-4679(99)00095-5}}</ref> These changes are also seen in non-drug-using [[sportsperson|athletes]], but steroid use may accelerate this process.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Dickerman RD, Schaller F, McConathy WJ |title=Left ventricular wall thickening does occur in elite power athletes with or without anabolic steroid Use |journal=Cardiology |volume=90 |issue=2 |pages=145–8 |year=1998 |pmid=9778553 |doi=10.1159/000006834}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=George KP, Wolfe LA, Burggraf GW |title=The 'athletic heart syndrome'. A critical review |journal=Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) |volume=11 |issue=5 |pages=300–30 |year=1991 |pmid=1829849 |doi=10.2165/00007256-199111050-00003}}</ref> However, both the connection between changes in the structure of the left ventricle and decreased cardiac function, as well as the connection to steroid use have been disputed.<ref>{{cite journal
|author=Dickerman R, Schaller F, Zachariah N, McConathy W
|title=Left ventricular size and function in elite bodybuilders using anabolic steroids
|journal=Clin J Sport Med
|volume=7
|issue=2
|pages=90–3
|year=1997
|pmid=9113423
|doi=10.1097/00042752-199704000-00003
}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Salke RC, Rowland TW, Burke EJ |title=Left ventricular size and function in body builders using anabolic steroids |journal=Medicine and science in sports and exercise |volume=17 |issue=6 |pages=701–4 |year=1985 |pmid=4079743 |doi=10.1249/00005768-198512000-00014}}</ref>

AAS use can cause harmful changes in [[cholesterol]] levels: Some steroids cause an increase in [[Low-density lipoprotein|LDL "bad" cholesterol]] and a decrease in [[High-density lipoprotein|HDL "good" cholesterol]].<ref name="mnt">{{cite web
| last = Tokar
| first = Steve
| title = Liver Damage And Increased Heart Attack Risk Caused By Anabolic Steroid Use
| publisher = University of California – San Francisco
|date=February 2006
|url= http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/38069.php
|accessdate = 2007-04-24 }}</ref>
In addition, steroids provoke a rapid increase in body weight and an accompanying rise in blood pressure, both of which leave users more vulnerable to a cardiovascular event.<ref name="abcnews1">{{cite web|url=http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/Health/story?id=587722 |title=Fact Sheet: Side Effects of Steroid Use - ABC News |publisher=Abcnews.go.com |date=2005-03-17 |accessdate=2013-12-01}}</ref>

====Growth defects====
An important side effect to mention for high school athletes because steroids can cause the premature closure of the growth plate, leading to stunted growth.<ref name="abcnews1"/>

====Feminization====
[[File:GynecomastiaFrontalAsymSevere.jpg|thumb|Male with gynecomastia]]
{{see also|Feminization (biology)}}

There are also sex-specific side effects of anabolic steroids. Development of breast tissue in males, a condition called [[gynecomastia]] (which is usually caused by high levels of circulating [[estradiol]]), may arise because of increased conversion of testosterone to estradiol by the enzyme [[aromatase]].<ref>{{cite journal |author=Marcus R, Korenman S |title=Estrogens and the human male |journal=Annu Rev Med |volume=27 |issue= |pages=357–70 |year= 1976|pmid=779604 |doi=10.1146/annurev.me.27.020176.002041}}</ref> Reduced [[sexual function]] and temporary [[infertility]] can also occur in males.<ref name="administration282">{{cite journal
|author=Matsumoto A
|title=Effects of chronic testosterone administration in normal men: safety and efficacy of high dosage testosterone and parallel dose-dependent suppression of luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, and sperm production
|journal=J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab.
|volume=70
|issue=1
|pages=282–7
|year=1990
|pmid=2104626
|doi=10.1210/jcem-70-1-282
}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal
|author = Hoffman JR, Ratamess NA
|journal = Journal of Sports Science and Medicine
|title = Medical Issues Associated with Anabolic Steroid Use: Are they Exaggerated?
|date = June 1, 2006
|url = http://www.jssm.org/vol5/n2/2/v5n2-2pdf.pdf
|format = PDF
|accessdate = 2007-05-08| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20070620160853/http://www.jssm.org/vol5/n2/2/v5n2-2pdf.pdf| archivedate= 20 June 2007 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal
|author=Meriggiola M, Costantino A, Bremner W, Morselli-Labate A
|title=Higher testosterone dose impairs sperm suppression induced by a combined androgen-progestin regimen
|journal=J. Androl.
|volume=23
|issue=5
|pages=684–90
|year=2002
|pmid=12185103
}}</ref> Another male-specific side-effect that can occur is [[testicular atrophy]], caused by the suppression of natural testosterone levels, which inhibits [[spermatogenesis|production of sperm]] (most of the mass of the testes is developing sperm). This side-effect is temporary: The size of the testicles usually returns to normal within a few weeks of discontinuing anabolic steroid use as normal production of sperm resumes.<ref>{{cite journal
|author=Alén M, Reinilä M, Vihko R
|title=Response of serum hormones to androgen administration in power athletes
|journal=Medicine and science in sports and exercise
|volume=17
|issue=3
|pages=354–9
|year=1985
|pmid=2991700
}}</ref>

====Masculinization====
{{see also|Virilization}}

Female-specific side effects include [[hirsutism|increases in body hair]], permanent deepening of the voice, [[clitoral hypertrophy|enlarged clitoris]], and temporary decreases in [[menstrual cycle]]s. When taken during pregnancy, anabolic steroids can affect [[fetal development]] by causing the development of male features in the female fetus and female features in the male fetus.<ref name="pmid14576190">{{cite journal | author = Manikkam M, Crespi EJ, Doop DD, Herkimer C, Lee JS, Yu S, Brown MB, Foster DL, Padmanabhan V | title = Fetal programming: prenatal testosterone excess leads to fetal growth retardation and postnatal catch-up growth in sheep | journal = Endocrinology | volume = 145 | issue = 2 | pages = 790–8 |date=February 2004 | pmid = 14576190 | doi = 10.1210/en.2003-0478 }}</ref>

====Kidney problems====
Kidney tests revealed that nine of the ten bodybuilders developed a condition called [[focal segmental glomerulosclerosis]], a type of scarring within the kidneys. The kidney damage in the bodybuilders has similarities to that seen in morbidly obese patients, but appears to be even more severe.<ref>{{cite conference |first1=Leal C. |last1=Herlitz |first2=Glen S. |last2=Markowitz |first3=Alton B. |last3=Farris |first4=Joshua A. |last4=Schwimmer |first5=Michael B. |last5=Stokes |first6=Cheryl |last6=Kunis |first7=Robert B. |last7=Colvin |first8=Vivette D. |last8=D'Agati |date=October 29, 2009 |title=Development of FSGS Following Anabolic Steroid Use in Bodybuilders |url=http://fitforin.it/images/stories/allegati/herlitzabstract.pdf |conference=42nd Annual Meeting and Scientific Exposition of the American Society of Nephrology |laysummary=http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029141202.htm |title=Bodybuilding With Steroids Damages Kidneys |laysource=ScienceDaily |laydate=October 30, 2009}}</ref>

====Liver problems====
High doses of oral anabolic steroid compounds can cause [[hepatotoxicity|liver damage]], as the steroids are metabolized (17α-[[alkyl]]ated) in the digestive system to increase their [[bioavailability]] and stability.<ref name="Yamamoto2006" /> [[Peliosis hepatis]] has been increasingly recognised with the use of anabolic steroids.

==AAS abuse==
Anabolic steroids are not psychoactive and cannot be detected with by stimuli devices like a [[pupilometer]] which makes them hard to spot as a source of neuropsychological imbalaces in some AAS users.

Research data indicates that steroids affect the serotonin and dopamine neurotransmitter systems of the brain.<ref>[http://www.dopinglinkki.fi/doping-substances/anabolic-steroids-induce-long-term-changes-in-the-brain Dopinglinkki > Anabolic steroids induce long-term changes in the brain<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> In an animal study, male rats developed a [[conditioned place preference]] to testosterone injections into the [[nucleus accumbens]], an effect blocked by [[dopamine antagonist]]s, which suggests that androgen reinforcement is mediated by the brain. Moreover, testosterone appears to act through the mesolimbic dopamine system, a common substrate for drugs of abuse. Nonetheless, androgen reinforcement is not comparable to that of cocaine, nicotine, or heroin. Instead, testosterone resembles other mild reinforcers, such as caffeine, or benzodiazepines. The potential for androgen addiction remains to be determined.<ref name="pmid15488545">{{cite journal |author=Wood RI |title=Reinforcing aspects of androgens |journal=Physiol. Behav. |volume=83 |issue=2 |pages=279–89 |date=November 2004 |pmid=15488545 |doi=10.1016/j.physbeh.2004.08.012 |url=http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0031-9384(04)00350-6}}</ref> However, abuse of steroids is rivalling heroin use in Britain.<ref>[http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/abuse-of-steroids-is-rivalling-heroin-use-908198 Abuse of steroids is rivalling heroin use in Britain - Mirror Online<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

===Abuse potential===
The Diagnostic Statistical Manual IV (DSM IV) and the International Classification of Diseases, Volume 10 (ICD 10) differ in the way they regard Anabolic-Androgenic Steroids' (AAS) potential for producing dependence.
DSM IV regards AAS as potentially dependence producing. ICD 10 however regards them as non-dependence producing.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.3109/16066359909004404 |title=Dependence-Producing Potential of Anabolic-Androgenic Steroids |year=1999 | author =Midgley SJ, Heather N, Davies JB |journal=Addiction Research & Theory |volume=7 |issue=6 |pages=539}}</ref>
Anabolic steroids are not physically addictive but users can develop a psychological dependence on the physical result.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mensfitness.co.uk/nutrition/supplements/1100/price-steroids |title=The price of steroids &#124; Men's Fitness UK |publisher=Mensfitness.co.uk |date=2008-09-03 |accessdate=2013-12-01}}</ref>


====DSM====
For DSM-IV, anabolic-androgenic steroid dependency is found in the “other substance-related disorder” (include inhalants, anabolic steroids, medications) section and can be coded, depending on which diagnostic criteria are met.<ref name="psychiatryonline.org">{{cite journal | author = Scally MC, Tan RS | title = Complexities in clarifying the diagnostic criteria for anabolic-androgenic steroid dependence | journal = Am J Psychiatry | volume = 166 | issue = 10 | pages = 1187; author reply 1188 |date=October 2009 | pmid = 19797448 | doi = 10.1176/appi.ajp.2009.09060846 }}</ref>

====ICD====
ICD–10 criteria for dependence include experience of at least three of the following during the past year:<ref name="Rashid et al 2007">{{cite journal |doi=10.1192/apt.bp.105.000935 |title=Anabolic androgenic steroids: What the psychiatrist needs to know |year=2007 | author =Rashid H, Ormerod S, Day E |journal=Advances in Psychiatric Treatment |volume=13 |issue=3 |pages=203}}</ref>
* a strong desire to take steroids
* difficulty in controlling use
* withdrawal syndrome when use is reduced
* evidence of tolerance
* neglect of other interests and persistent use despite harmful consequences

However, the following ICD-10-CM Index entries contain back-references to ICD-10-CM F55.3:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.icd10data.com/ICD10CM/Codes/F01-F99/F50-F59/F55-/F55.3 |title=2014 ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Code F55.3 : Abuse of steroids or hormones |publisher=Icd10data.com |accessdate=2013-12-01}}</ref>
*Abuse
**hormones F55.5
**steroids F55.5
**drug NEC (non-dependent) F19.10
***hormones F55.5
***steroids F55.5
**non-psychoactive substance NEC F55.8
***hormones F55.5
***steroids F55.5

ICD-10 goes on to state that “although it is usually clear that the patient has a strong motivation to take the substance, there is no development of dependence or withdrawal symptoms as in the case of the psychoactive substances.”<ref name="psychiatryonline.org"/>

ICD-9-CM will be replaced by ICD-10-CM beginning October 1, 2014, therefore, F55.3 and all other ICD-10-CM diagnosis codes should only be used for training or planning purposes until then.

====National Institute on Drug Abuse====
The [[National Institute on Drug Abuse]] (NIDA) says that "even though anabolic steroids do not cause the same high as other drugs, steroids are reinforcing and can lead to addiction. Studies have shown that animals will self-administer steroids when given the opportunity, just as they do with other addictive drugs. People may persist in abusing steroids despite physical problems and negative effects on social relationships, reflecting these drugs’ addictive potential. Also, steroid abusers typically spend large amounts of time and money obtaining the drug; another indication of addiction. Individuals who abuse steroids can experience withdrawal symptoms when they stop taking them, including mood swings, fatigue, restlessness, loss of appetite, insomnia, reduced sex drive, and steroid cravings, all of which may contribute to continued abuse. One of the most dangerous withdrawal symptoms is depression. When depression is persistent, it can sometimes lead to suicidal thoughts. Research has found that some steroid abusers turn to other drugs such as opioid to counteract the negative effects of steroids."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/anabolic-steroids |title=DrugFacts: Anabolic Steroids &#124; National Institute on Drug Abuse |publisher=Drugabuse.gov |accessdate=2013-12-01}}</ref>

===Causes and treatment===
Male anabolic-androgenic steroid abusers often have a troubled social background.<ref name="pmid17615062">{{cite journal | author = Skarberg K, Engstrom I | title = Troubled social background of male anabolic-androgenic steroid abusers in treatment | journal = Subst Abuse Treat Prev Policy | volume = 2 | issue = | pages = 20 | year = 2007 | pmid = 17615062 | pmc = 1995193 | doi = 10.1186/1747-597X-2-20 }}</ref>
Steroid abuse can also erode a person’s ability to keep emotions in check, and people who abuse these drugs may fly into rages at a moment’s notice. Pushing them to change their thought patterns in therapy could be difficult, as a result, as people like this might just quit their treatment programs or blame their therapists for their difficulties.<ref >{{cite web|url=http://www.axisresidentialtreatment.com/steroid-abuse|title= Getting Help for Steroid Abuse}}</ref> Steroid users, in contrast to heroin or cocaine users, may claim that they know almost everything there is to know about the substances they take. As a result, these users might not be convinced that their drugs are unsafe, or that other people know things about their drugs that they may not have considered. These users may seem hard to reach, as they may not be frightened about their use of drugs or even willing to discuss the matter with those they don’t respect. Families may find it hard to break through this wall of denial, but therapists have a variety of tools they can use in order to help their clients. For example, some therapists focus on the personality changes and lifestyle changes steroid users experience. These therapists may ask their clients to describe how their lives were before they started using drugs, and how their lives are now.

====Childhood trauma====
25% of male weightlifters reported memories of childhood physical or sexual abuse in an interview. Anabolic steroids are sometimes used by people with [[muscle dysmorphia]] (a very specific type of [[body dysmorphic disorder]] (BDD)) as a defense mechanism.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/anabolic-steroid-abuse/why-do-people-abuse-anabolic-steroids |title=Why do people abuse anabolic steroids? &#124; National Institute on Drug Abuse |publisher=Drugabuse.gov |accessdate=2013-12-01}}</ref> Interestingly, [[yohimbine]], while it was originally considered a flop of a supplement, because it did not increase testosterone levels as first suspected, have at higher doses been discovered to be useful to facilitate recall of traumatic memories in the treatment of [[post traumatic stress disorder]] (PTSD).<ref>{{cite book |first1=Bessel A. |last1=van der Kolk |chapter=The Treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder |chapterurl=http://books.google.com/books?id=sVuMSVEY83UC&pg=PA421 |editor1-first=Stevan E. |editor1-last=Hobfoll |editor2-first=Marten W. |editor2-last=De Vries |title=Extreme stress and communities: impact and intervention |publisher=Kluwer Academic Publishers |location=Boston |year=1995 |pages=421–44 |isbn=978-0-7923-3468-2}}</ref> Also, ''[[Tabernanthe iboga]]'' and [[ibogaine]] have been used to treat PTSD and/or addiction to anabolic steroids.

===Illicit use by groups===

====Criminals====
Anabolic steroid use has been associated with an antisocial lifestyle involving various types of criminality.<ref name="pmid17088508">{{cite journal | author = Klötz F, Garle M, Granath F, Thiblin I | title = Criminality among individuals testing positive for the presence of anabolic androgenic steroids | journal = Arch. Gen. Psychiatry | volume = 63 | issue = 11 | pages = 1274–9 |date=November 2006 | pmid = 17088508 | doi = 10.1001/archpsyc.63.11.1274 }}</ref>

====Governments====

=====Law enforcement=====
Steroid abuse among law enforcement is considered a problem by some. "It's a big problem, and from the number of cases, it's something we shouldn't ignore. It's not that we set out to target cops, but when we're in the middle of an active investigation into steroids, there have been quite a few cases that have led back to police officers," says Lawrence Payne, a spokesman for the United States [[Drug Enforcement Administration]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.annarbor.com/health/steroid-abuse-among-law-enforcement-a-problem-nationwide/|title=Steroid abuse among law enforcement a problem nationwide|first=Juliana|last=Keeping|work=The Ann Arbor News|date=27 December 2010|accessdate=1 December 2013}}</ref> The FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin stated that “Anabolic steroid abuse by police officers is a serious problem that merits greater awareness by departments across the country".<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.policechiefmagazine.org/magazine/index.cfm?fuseaction=display_arch&article_id=1512&issue_id=62008|title=Anabolic Steroid Use and Abuse by Police Officers: Policy & Prevention|work=The Police Chief|date=June 2008|accessdate=1 December 2013}}</ref> It is also believed that police officers across the United Kingdom "are using criminals to buy steroids and [[Abuse of power|abuse their power]] for sexual gratification" which he claims to be a top risk factor for [[police corruption]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2266621/Chief-constable-admits-police-officers-UK-using-criminals-buy-steroids-abuse-power-sexual-gratification.html|title=Chief constable admits police officers across UK 'are using criminals to buy steroids and abuse their power for sexual gratification'|work=Daily Mail|date=22 January 2013|accessdate=1 December 2013}}</ref>

====Sports====

=====Professional wrestling=====
{{main|WWE#Wellness Program}}

Following the [[Chris Benoit double murder and suicide|murder-suicide of Chris Benoit in 2007]], the [[United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform|Oversight and Government Reform Committee]] investigated steroid usage in the wrestling industry.<ref name="greenwichtimecontroversy">{{cite web|url= http://www.greenwichtime.com/news/article/Sunday-subscriber-advantage-WWE-steroid-385857.php#page-1|title=WWE steroid investigation: A controversy McMahon 'doesn't need'|author=Brian Lockhart|publisher=Greenwich Time|date=2010-03-01|accessdate=2010-03-01}}</ref> The Committee investigated [[WWE]] and [[Total Nonstop Action Wrestling]] (TNA), asking for documentation of their companies' drug policies. WWE CEO and Chairman, [[Linda McMahon|Linda]] and [[Vince McMahon]] respectively, both testified. The documents stated that 75 wrestlers—roughly 40 percent—had tested positive for drug use since 2006, most commonly for steroids.<ref>[http://oversight.house.gov/images/stories/documents/20081231141129.pdf documents]{{dead link|date=January 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theday.com/article/20100609/NWS12/306099933/1019&town= |title=Deposition details McMahon steroid testimony &#124; News from southeastern Connecticut |publisher=The Day |date=2007-12-13 |accessdate=2010-08-14}}</ref>

===Tragedies involving AAS abuse===

====Chris Benoit double-murder and suicide====
{{main|Chris Benoit double-murder and suicide}}

[[Chris Benoit]] committed suicide after he killed his wife Nancy Benoit and strangled their seven-year-old son Daniel, led to numerous media accounts, and federal investigation into steroid abuse in professional wrestling.

====David Jacobs====
{{main|David Jacobs (steroid dealer)}}

On June 5, 2008, police discovered Jacobs, along with his "on-again, off-again" girlfriend,<ref>Assael, Shaun. "[http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?id=3428272 Former steroid dealer wanted to make a difference]", ESPN, the Magazine, June 5, 2008. Accessed June 23, 2008.</ref> prominent fitness model Amanda Earhart-Savell, both dead of [[multiple gunshot suicide|multiple gunshot wounds]] from a .40 caliber [[Glock]] handgun.<ref name=Ball>Ball, Linda Stewart. "[http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iQIk47R92H8MzmAjeZick0C7yjUAD914RSLG0 Police say steroid dealer killed himself]", Associated Press, Jun 6, 2008. Accessed June 23, 2008.{{dead link|date=November 2012|bot=Legobot}}</ref> Police shortly thereafter began characterizing their investigation as consistent with a [[murder-suicide]]. Police had been alerted to possible foul play after friends of Savell had reported she had been missing for several days, and officers were sent to check on their welfare at Jacobs' house located in [[Plano, Texas]].<ref>"Steroid Dealer Is Found Shot To Death", ''[[The Washington Post]]'', Friday, June 6, 2008; Page E02</ref> Also found in Jacobs's house were "146 vials of steroids, 10 syringes, scales, bags with steroids and marijuana, a computer, and a .22 semi-automatic gun with ammunition."<ref>"[http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/localnews/news8/stories/wfaa080609_mo_murdersuicide.17131001.html Earhart-Savell death ruled murder]{{dead link|date=January 2014}}", WFAA, June 9, 2008.</ref>

====Kandahar massacre====
{{main|Kandahar massacre}}

[[Robert Bales]], a former [[United States Army]] [[Staff sergeant#US Army|staff sergeant]] who fatally shot 17 Afghan civilians (nine children—some as young as two years old—four women and three men) in [[Panjwayi District|Panjwayi]], [[Kandahar Province, Afghanistan|Kandahar]], [[Afghanistan]], on March 11, 2012 – an event known as the [[Kandahar massacre]], said he'd taken the steroids he was charged with solely to be "huge and jacked" and blamed them for "definitely" increasing his irritability and anger. His lawyers have also said he had suffered from post-traumatic stress and a traumatic brain injury.<ref name=guilty>{{cite news|title=Guilty Plea By Sergeant In Killing Of Civilians|author=Kirk Johnson|date=June 5, 2013|work=The New York Times|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/06/us/sergeant-robert-bales-testimony.html|accessdate=June 5, 2013}}</ref>

== Legal and sport restrictions ==
{{See also|Legality of anabolic steroids}}

=== Legal status ===
[[File:Compounds showing anabolic and androgenic effects.png|thumb|right|Various compounds with anabolic and androgenic effects, their relation with anabolic steroids]]
The legal status of anabolic steroids varies from country to country: some have stricter controls on their use or prescription than others though in many<!--most--> countries they are not illegal. In the U.S., anabolic steroids are currently listed as Schedule III [[controlled substances]] under the [[Controlled Substances Act]], which makes simply possessing of such substances without a prescription, first offense, a federal crime punishable by up to one year in prison. Unlawful distribution or possession with intent to distribute anabolic steroids punishable as a first offense is punished by up to ten years in prison.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/21cfr/21usc/844.htm|title=Title 21 United States Code (USC) Controlled Substances Act|publisher=US Department of Justice|accessdate=2009-09-07| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20090801235451/http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/21cfr/21usc/844.htm| archivedate= 1 August 2009 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref> In Canada, anabolic steroids and their derivatives are part of the Controlled drugs and substances act and are [[Schedule IV (Canada)|Schedule IV]] substances, meaning that it is illegal to obtain or sell them without a prescription; however, possession is not punishable, a consequence reserved for schedule I, II, or III substances. Those guilty of buying or selling anabolic steroids in Canada can be imprisoned for up to 18 months.<ref>{{Cite canlaw | short title=Controlled Drugs and Substances Act |abbr=S.C. | year=1996 | chapter=19 | section=4 | subsection=7 | link=http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-38.8/page-2.html#h-4 |linkloc= Department of Justice | wikilink=Controlled Drugs and Substances Act }}</ref> Import and export also carry similar penalties.
In Canada, researchers have concluded that steroid use among student athletes is extremely widespread. A study conducted in 1993 by the Canadian Centre for Drug-Free Sport found that nearly 83,000 Canadians between the ages of 11 and 18 use steroids.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Deacon|first=James|title=Biceps in a bottle|journal=Maclean's|page=52|date=2 May 1994}}</ref> Anabolic steroids are also illegal without prescription in Australia,<ref>{{cite web
| title = Steroids
| publisher = Australian Institute of Criminology
| year = 2006
| url = http://www.aic.gov.au/research/drugs/types/steroids.html
| accessdate =2007-05-06 |archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20070405033442/http://www.aic.gov.au/research/drugs/types/steroids.html <!--DASHBot--> |archivedate = 2007-04-05}}</ref> Argentina, Brazil and Portugal,<ref>{{cite web
| title = Library of congress search
| publisher = Library of congress
| url = http://www.glin.gov/search.action?searchDetails.andSubjectTerms=true&searchDetails.hitsPerPage=10&searchDetails.includeAbstractFields=false&searchDetails.includeAllFields=true&searchDetails.includeNameFields=false&searchDetails.includeNumberFields=false&searchDetails.includeTitleFields=false&searchDetails.issuanceDateFrom=&searchDetails.issuanceDateTo=&searchDetails.offset=0&searchDetails.publicationDateFrom=&searchDetails.publicationDateTo=&searchDetails.publicationJurisdictionExclude=false&searchDetails.publicationLanguage=&searchDetails.queryString=steroid&searchDetails.queryType=ALL&searchDetails.searchAll=true&searchDetails.searchJudicialDecisions=false&searchDetails.searchLaws=false&searchDetails.searchLegalLiterature=false&searchDetails.searchLegislativeRecord=false&searchDetails.showSummary=true&searchDetails.sortOrder=default&searchDetails.subjectTerm=%5B%5D&searchDetails.subjectTerms=&searchDetails.summaryLanguage=&searchDetails.activeDrills=&searchDetails.offset=0&showSummary=true&refineQuery=anabolic&refineQueryType=ALL&refine=Refine+Search
| accessdate =2007-05-06 }}{{dead link|date=January 2014}}</ref> and are listed as Class&nbsp;C [[Controlled Drug]]s in the United Kingdom. Anabolic steroids are readily available without a prescription in some countries such as [[Mexico]] and [[Thailand]].

==== United States ====
{{main|Anabolic Steroid Control Act}}

[[File:SteroidpillsDEA.jpg|thumb|right |200px| Steroid pills intercepted by the US Drug Enforcement Administration during the "Operation raw deal" bust in September 2007.]]
The history of the U.S. legislation on anabolic steroids goes back to the late 1980s, when the [[U.S. Congress]] considered placing anabolic steroids under the Controlled Substances Act following the controversy over [[Ben Johnson (sprinter)|Ben Johnson's]] victory at the [[1988 Summer Olympics]] in [[Seoul]]. During deliberations, the [[American Medical Association]] (AMA), [[Drug Enforcement Administration]] (DEA), [[Food and Drug Administration]] (FDA) as well as the [[National Institute on Drug Abuse]] (NIDA) all opposed listing anabolic steroids as controlled substances,{{citation needed|date=September 2013}} citing the fact that use of these hormones does not lead to the physical or psychological dependence required for such scheduling under the Controlled Substance Act. Nevertheless, anabolic steroids were added to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act in the [[Anabolic Steroid Control Act]] of 1990.<ref name="congress">{{USBill|101|HR|4658}}</ref>

The same act also introduced more stringent controls with higher criminal penalties for offenses involving the illegal distribution of anabolic steroids and human growth hormone. By the early 1990s, after anabolic steroids were scheduled in the U.S., several pharmaceutical companies stopped manufacturing or marketing the products in the U.S., including Ciba, Searle, Syntex, and others. In the Controlled Substances Act, anabolic steroids are defined to be any drug or hormonal substance chemically and pharmacologically related to testosterone (other than [[estrogen]]s, [[progestin]]s, and [[corticosteroid]]s) that promote muscle growth. The act was amended by the Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2004, which added [[prohormone]]s to the list of [[controlled substance]]s, with effect from January 20, 2005.<ref name="usdoj">{{cite web | url=http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/pubs/cngrtest/ct031604.html | title=News from DEA, Congressional Testimony, 03/16/04 | accessdate=2007-04-24}}{{dead link|date=January 2014}}</ref>

==== United Kingdom ====
In the United Kingdom, anabolic steroids are classified as class C drugs for their illegal abuse potential, which puts them in the same class as [[benzodiazepines]]. Anabolic steroids are in Schedule 4, which is divided in 2 parts; Part 1 contains most of the benzodiazepines and Part 2 contains the anabolic and androgenic steroids.

Part 1 drugs are subject to full import and export controls with possession being an offence without an appropriate prescription. There is no restriction on the possession when it is part of a medicinal product. Part 2 drugs require a Home Office licence for importation and export unless the substance is in the form of a medicinal product and is for self-administration by a person.<ref>{{cite web|title=Patient.co.uk Controlled Drugs|url=http://www.patient.co.uk/doctor/controlled-drugs|publisher=Egton Medical Information Systems Limited|accessdate=8 August 2013}}</ref>

=== Status in sports ===
{{See also|Use of performance-enhancing drugs in sport}}
[[File:Anabolic substances and their legal status in most Western countries.png|thumb|right|Legal status of anabolic steroids and other compounds with anabolic effects in Western countries]]
Anabolic steroids are banned by all major sports bodies including [[Association of Tennis Professionals]], [[Major League Baseball]], [[Fédération Internationale de Football Association]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://es.fifa.com/mm/document/afdeveloping/medical/50/29/56/fifadocregulations_09.01.09_e.pdf |title=FIFA Anit-Doping Regulations |publisher=Es.fifa.com |accessdate=2013-12-01}}</ref> the [[Olympic Games|Olympics]],<ref>{{cite web
| title = Olympic movement anti-doping code
| publisher = International Olympic Committee
| year = 1999
| url = http://www.medycynasportowa.pl/download/doping_code_e.pdf
| format = PDF
| accessdate =2007-05-06 }}</ref> the [[National Basketball Association]],<ref>{{cite web
| title = The nba and nbpa anti-drug program
| work = NBA Policy
| publisher = findlaw.com
| year = 1999
| url = http://news.findlaw.com/legalnews/sports/drugs/policy/basketball/index.html
| accessdate =2007-05-06 }}</ref> the [[National Hockey League]],<ref>{{cite web
| title = NHL/NHLPA performance-enhancing substances program summary
| publisher = nhlpa.com
| url = http://www.nhlpa.com/PerformanceEnhancing/index.asp
| accessdate =2007-05-06 | archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20070602113854/http://www.nhlpa.com/PerformanceEnhancing/index.asp| archivedate= 2 June 2007 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref> and the [[National Football League]].<ref>{{cite web
| title = List of Prohibited Substances
| publisher = nflpa.com
| year = 2006
| url = http://www.nflpa.org/pdfs/RulesAndRegs/ProhibitedSubstances.pdf
|format=PDF| accessdate =2007-05-06 }}{{dead link|date=January 2014}}</ref> The [[World Anti-Doping Agency]] (WADA) maintains the list of performance-enhancing substances used by many major sports bodies and includes all anabolic agents, which includes all anabolic steroids and precursors as well as all hormones and related substances.<ref>{{cite web
| title = World anti-doping code
| publisher = WADA
| year = 2003
| url = http://www.wada-ama.org/rtecontent/document/code_v3.pdf
| format = PDF
| accessdate =2007-07-10 | archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20070807192944/http://www.wada-ama.org/rtecontent/document/code_v3.pdf| archivedate= 7 August 2007 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
| title = Prohibited list of 2005
| publisher = WADA
| year = 2005
| url = http://www.wada-ama.org/rtecontent/document/summary_2005.pdf
| format = PDF
| accessdate =2007-05-06 }}</ref> Spain has passed an anti-doping law creating a national anti-doping agency.<ref>{{cite news
| title = Spain's senate passes anti-doping law
| agency = Associated Press
| date = October 5, 2006
| publisher = Herald Tribune
| url = http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/10/05/sports/EU_SPT_Spain_Doping.php
| accessdate =2007-05-06 }}{{dead link|date=January 2014}}</ref> Italy passed a law in 2000 where penalties range up to three years in prison if an athlete has tested positive for banned substances.<ref>{{cite news
| last = Johnson
| first = Kevin
| title = Italian anti-doping laws could mean 3 years in jail
| publisher = USA Today
| date = 2006-02-20
| url = http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/torino/2006-02-19-anti-doping-laws_x.htm
| accessdate =2007-05-06 }}</ref> In 2006, Russian President [[Vladimir Putin]] signed into law ratification of the [[International Convention Against Doping in Sport]] which would encourage cooperation with WADA. Many other countries have similar legislation prohibiting anabolic steroids in sports including Denmark,<ref>{{cite web
| title = Act on promotion of doping-free sport
| publisher = kum.dk
| year = 2004
| url = http://www.kum.dk/graphics/kum/downloads/Kulturomraader/Ophavsret/Doping%20lov.pdf
| format = PDF
| accessdate =2007-05-06 }} {{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref> France,<ref>{{cite web
| title = Protection of health of athletes and the fight against doping
| publisher = WADA
| year = 2006
| url = http://www.wada-ama.org/rtecontent/document/national_laws_sports_code_legislative_part_En.pdf
| format = PDF
| accessdate =2007-05-06 }}</ref> the Netherlands<ref>{{cite web
| title = Anti-doping legislation in the netherlands
| publisher = WADA
| year = 2006
| url = http://www.wada-ama.org/rtecontent/document/Dutch_Legislation_Concerning_Doping_Jan_2007.pdf
| format = PDF
| accessdate =2007-05-06 }}</ref> and Sweden.<ref>{{cite web
| title = The Swedish Act prohibiting certain doping substances (1991:1969)
| publisher = WADA
| year = 1991
| url = http://www.wada-ama.org/rtecontent/document/National_Laws_Swedish_Act.pdf
| format = PDF
| accessdate =2007-05-06 }}</ref>

=== Detection of use ===
The most commonly employed human physiological specimen for detecting anabolic steroid usage is urine, although both blood and hair have been investigated for this purpose. The anabolic steroids, whether of endogenous or exogenous origin, are subject to extensive hepatic biotransformation by a variety of enzymatic pathways. The primary urinary metabolites may be detectable for up to 30 days after the last use, depending on the specific agent, dose and route of administration. A number of the drugs have common metabolic pathways, and their excretion profiles may overlap those of the endogenous steroids, making interpretation of testing results a very significant challenge to the analytical chemist. Methods for detection of the substances or their excretion products in urine specimens usually involve [[gas chromatography–mass spectrometry]] or liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry.<ref name="pmid18570179">{{cite journal | author = Mareck U, Geyer H, Opfermann G, Thevis M, Schänzer W | title = Factors influencing the steroid profile in doping control analysis | journal = J Mass Spectrom | volume = 43 | issue = 7 | pages = 877–91 |date=July 2008 | pmid = 18570179 | doi = 10.1002/jms.1457 }}</ref><ref name="pmid19429460">{{cite journal | author = Fragkaki AG, Angelis YS, Tsantili-Kakoulidou A, Koupparis M, Georgakopoulos C | title = Schemes of metabolic patterns of anabolic androgenic steroids for the estimation of metabolites of designer steroids in human urine | journal = J. Steroid Biochem. Mol. Biol. | volume = 115 | issue = 1–2 | pages = 44–61 |date=May 2009 | pmid = 19429460 | doi = 10.1016/j.jsbmb.2009.02.016 }}</ref><ref name="pmid19465014">{{cite journal | author = Blackledge RD | title = Bad science: the instrumental data in the Floyd Landis case | journal = Clin. Chim. Acta | volume = 406 | issue = 1–2 | pages = 8–13 |date=August 2009 | pmid = 19465014 | doi = 10.1016/j.cca.2009.05.016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first1=Randall Clint |last1=Baselt |title=Disposition of Toxic Drugs and Chemicals in Man |edition=8th |publisher=Biomedical Publications |location=Foster City, CA |year=2008 |pages=95, 393, 403, 649, 695, 952, 962, 1078, 1156, 1170, 1442, 1501, 1581 |isbn=978-0-9626523-7-0}}</ref>

== Illegal trade ==
{{Main|Illegal trade in anabolic steroids}}
[[File:Rd17.jpg|thumb|Several large buckets containing tens of thousands of anabolic steroid vials confiscated by the [[Drug Enforcement Administration|DEA]] during "Operation Raw Deal" in 2007.]]

Anabolic steroids are frequently produced in pharmaceutical laboratories, but, in nations where stricter laws are present, they are also produced in small home-made underground laboratories, usually from raw substances imported from abroad.<ref name=Assael>{{cite news | first=Shaun | last=Assael| title='Raw Deal' busts labs across U.S., many supplied by China | date=2007-09-24 | url =http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?id=3033532 | work =ESPN The Magazine | pages = | accessdate = 2007-09-24 | language = | archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20071014050947/http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?id=3033532| archivedate= 14 October 2007 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref> In these countries, the majority of steroids are obtained illegally through [[black market]] trade.<ref name=cy>{{cite book | last = Yesalis | first = C | year = 2000 | title = Anabolic Steroids in Sport and Exercise | isbn = 978-0-88011-786-9 | url = http://books.google.com/?id=I7-D2jH-OJ4C&pg=PA3 | chapter = Source of Anabolic Steroids | publisher = Human Kinetics | location = Champaign, Ill.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
| last = Black
| first = Terry
| title = Does the Ban on Drugs in Sport Improve Societal Welfare?
| publisher = Faculty of Business, Queensland University of Technology
| year = 1996
| url= http://irs.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/31/4/367
| accessdate = 2007-04-24 }}</ref> These steroids are usually manufactured in other countries, and therefore must be [[smuggling|smuggled]] across international borders. As with most significant smuggling operations, [[organized crime]] is involved.<ref name=mafia>{{cite book | url = http://books.google.com/?id=2w-oAl42t5cC&pg=PT183 | page = 175 | isbn =978-0-470-83733-7 | chapter = Organized Crime | author = Richard W. Pound. | year = 2006 | publisher = Wiley | location = Mississaug, Ontario | title = Inside dope : how drugs are the biggest threat to sports, why you should care, and what can be done about them}}</ref>

In the late 2000s, the worldwide trade in illicit AAS increased significantly, and authorities announced record captures on three continents. In 2006, Finnish authorities announced a record seizure of 11.8 million AAS tablets. A year later, the DEA seized 11.4 million units of AAS in the largest U.S seizure ever. In the first three months of 2008, Australian customs reported a record 300 seizures of AAS shipments.<ref name=kanayama08>{{cite journal | author = Kanayama G, Hudson JI, Pope HG | title = Long-term psychiatric and medical consequences of anabolic-androgenic steroid abuse: a looming public health concern? | journal = Drug Alcohol Depend | volume = 98 | issue = 1–2 | pages = 1–12 |date=November 2008 | pmid = 18599224 | pmc = 2646607 | doi = 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2008.05.004 }}</ref>

In the U.S., Canada, and Europe, illegal steroids are sometimes purchased just as any other illegal drug, through dealers who are able to obtain the drugs from a number of sources. Illegal anabolic steroids are sometimes sold at gyms and competitions, and through the mail, but may also be obtained through pharmacists, veterinarians, and physicians.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gdcada.org/statistics/steroids.htm |title=Steroids |accessdate=2007-09-13 |work=National Institute on Drug Abuse |publisher=GDCADA |archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20070911222757/http://www.gdcada.org/statistics/steroids.htm <!--DASHBot--> |archivedate = 2007-09-11}}</ref> In addition, a significant number of counterfeit products are sold as anabolic steroids, in particular via mail order from websites posing as overseas pharmacies. In the U.S., black-market importation continues from Mexico, Thailand, and other countries where steroids are more easily available, as they are legal.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.justice.gov/oig/reports/DEA/a0719/app2.htm | title=The Drug Enforcement Administration's International Operations (Redacted) |date=February 2007 | accessdate=2014-01-02 | work=Office of the Inspector General | publisher=USDOJ | deadurl=no | archiveurl=http://archive.is/nC58 | archivedate=2012-08-05 }}</ref>

== History ==

=== Isolation of gonadal AAS ===
The use of [[gonadal]] [[steroid]]s pre-dates their identification and isolation. Medical use of [[testicle]] extract began in the late 19th century while its effects on strength were still being studied.<ref name="DoirpMissing" /> The isolation of gonadal steroids can be traced back to 1931, when [[Adolf Butenandt]], a chemist in [[Marburg]], purified 15 milligrams of the male hormone [[androstenone]] from tens of thousands of litres of urine. This steroid was subsequently [[chemical synthesis|synthesized]] in 1934 by [[Leopold Ruzicka]], a chemist in [[Zurich]].<ref name = "PMID7817189"/>

In the 1930s, it was already known that the [[testes]] contain a more powerful [[androgen]] than [[androstenone]], and three groups of scientists, funded by competing [[pharmaceutical companies]] in the Netherlands, Germany, and Switzerland, raced to isolate it.<ref name = "PMID7817189">{{cite journal
|author=Hoberman JM, Yesalis CE
|title=The history of synthetic testosterone
|journal=Scientific American
|volume=272
|issue=2
|pages=76–81
|year=1995
|pmid=7817189
|doi=10.1038/scientificamerican0295-76
}}</ref><ref name = "PMID11176375">{{cite journal
|author=Freeman ER, Bloom DA, McGuire EJ
|title=A brief history of testosterone
|journal=Journal of Urology
|volume=165
|issue=2
|pages=371–373
|year=2001
|pmid= 11176375
|doi=10.1097/00005392-200102000-00004
}}</ref> This hormone was first identified by Karoly Gyula David, E. Dingemanse, J. Freud and Ernst Laqueur in a May 1935 paper "On Crystalline Male Hormone from Testicles (Testosterone)."<ref>{{cite journal| author = David K, Dingemanse E, Freud J, Laqueur L|title= Uber krystallinisches mannliches Hormon aus Hoden (Testosteron) wirksamer als aus harn oder aus Cholesterin bereitetes Androsteron|journal= Hoppe Seylers Z Physiol Chem|volume=233|page=281|year= 1935| doi = 10.1515/bchm2.1935.233.5-6.281| issue = 5–6}}</ref> They named the hormone ''[[testosterone]]'', from the [[stem (linguistics)|stems]] of ''testicle'' and ''[[sterol]]'', and the suffix of ''[[ketone]]''. The [[chemical synthesis]] of testosterone was achieved in August that year, when Butenandt and G. Hanisch published a paper describing "A Method for Preparing Testosterone from Cholesterol."<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1002/cber.19350680937 |title=Über die Umwandlung des Dehydro-androsterons in Δ4-Androsten-ol-(17)-0n-(3) (Testosteron); ein Weg zur Darstellung des Testosterons aus Cholesterin (Vorläuf. Mitteil.) |trans_title=On the conversion of dehydro-Δ4-androstene androsterons in-ol (17) 0n (3) (testosterone), a way to represent the testosterone from cholesterol (Vorläuf. msgs.) |language=de |year=1935 | author = Butenandt A, Hanisch G |journal=Berichte der deutschen chemischen Gesellschaft (A and B Series) |volume=68 |issue=9 |pages=1859–62}}</ref> Only a week later, the third group, Ruzicka and A. Wettstein, announced a patent application in a paper "On the Artificial Preparation of the Testicular Hormone Testosterone (Androsten-3-one-17-ol)."<ref>{{cite journal|author = Ruzicka L, Wettstein A|title= Sexualhormone VII. Uber die kunstliche Herstellung des Testikelhormons. Testosteron (Androsten-3-one-17-ol.) |trans_title=Sex hormones VII About the artificial production of testosterone Testikelhormons (androstene-3-one-17-ol) |language=de |journal = Helvetica Chimica Acta|volume = 18|pages= 1264–75|year = 1935|doi= 10.1002/hlca.193501801176}}</ref> Ruzicka and Butenandt were offered the 1939 [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry]] for their work, but the [[Nazi Germany|Nazi]] government forced Butenandt to decline the honor, although he accepted the prize after the end of World War II.<ref name = "PMID7817189"/><ref name = "PMID11176375"/>

Clinical trials on humans, involving either oral doses of [[methyltestosterone]] or injections of [[testosterone propionate]], began as early as 1937.<ref name = "PMID7817189"/> Testosterone propionate is mentioned in a letter to the editor of ''Strength and Health'' magazine in 1938; this is the earliest known reference to an anabolic steroid in a U.S. [[Olympic weightlifting|weightlifting]] or [[bodybuilding]] magazine.<ref name = "PMID7817189"/> There are often reported rumors that German soldiers were administered anabolic steroids during the Second World War, the aim being to increase their aggression and stamina, but these are, as yet, unproven.<ref name=Lenehan>Pat Lenehan, "Anabolic Steroids: And Other Performance-enhancing Drugs", CRC Press, 2003, ISBN 0-415-28030-3, page 6</ref> [[Adolf Hitler]] himself, according to his physician, was injected with testosterone derivatives to treat various ailments.<ref name=Taylor>{{cite book | author = Taylor WN | title = Anabolic Steroids and the Athlete | publisher = McFarland & Company | date = January 1, 2009 | location = | page = 181 | doi = | isbn = 0-7864-1128-7 }}</ref> AAS were used in experiments conducted by the Nazis on concentration camp inmates,<ref name=Taylor/> and later by the allies attempting to treat the malnourished victims that survived Nazi camps.<ref name=Lenehan/> President [[John F. Kennedy]] was administered steroids both before and during his presidency.<ref name=NewsHour>{{cite web | url = http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/health/july-dec02/jfk_11-18.html | title = President Kennedy's Health Secrets | author = Senior Correspondent Ray Suarez and physician Jeffrey Kelman | date = 2002-11-18 | work = PBS NewsHour | publisher = Public Broadcasting System }}</ref>

=== Development of synthetic AAS ===
The development of muscle-building properties of testosterone was pursued in the 1940s, in the Soviet Union and in [[Eastern Bloc]] countries such as East Germany, where steroid programs were used to enhance the performance of [[Olympic Games|Olympic]] and other [[amateur sports|amateur]] [[Olympic weightlifting|weight lifters]]. In response to the success of Russian weightlifters, the U.S. Olympic Team physician [[John Bosley Ziegler|John Ziegler]] worked with synthetic chemists to develop an anabolic steroid with reduced [[Anabolic steroid#Anabolic and androgenic effects|androgenic]] effects.<ref name="pedsreview">{{cite journal |author=Calfee R, Fadale P |title=Popular ergogenic drugs and supplements in young athletes |journal=Pediatrics |volume=117 |issue=3 |pages=e577–89 |year=2006 |pmid=16510635 |doi=10.1542/peds.2005-1429}}</ref> Ziegler's work resulted in the production of [[methandrostenolone]], which Ciba Pharmaceuticals marketed as Dianabol. The new steroid was approved for use in the U.S. by the [[Food and Drug Administration]] (FDA) in 1958. It was most commonly administered to burn victims and the elderly. The drug's [[off-label use]]rs were mostly bodybuilders and weight lifters. Although Ziegler prescribed only small doses to athletes, he soon discovered that those having abused Dianabol suffered from enlarged prostates and atrophied testes.<ref>Justin Peters [http://www.slate.com/id/2113752/ The Man Behind the Juice], ''Slate'' Friday, Feb. 18, 2005, Accessed 29 April 2008</ref> AAS were placed on the list of banned substances of the IOC in 1976, and a decade later the committee introduced 'out-of-competition' doping tests because many athletes used AAS in their training period rather than during competition.<ref name="Hartgens and Kuipers 2004"/>

Three major ideas governed modifications of testosterone into a multitude of AAS: [[Alkylation]] at 17-alpha position with [[methyl]] or [[ethyl group]] created orally active compounds because it slows the degradation of the drug by the liver; [[esterification]] of testosterone and [[nortestosterone]] at the 17-beta position allows the substance to be administered parenterally and increases the duration of effectiveness because agents soluble in oily liquids may be present in the body for several months; and alterations of the ring structure were applied for both oral and parenteral agents to seeking to obtain different anabolic to androgenic effect ratios.<ref name="Hartgens and Kuipers 2004"/>

==See also==
{{Portal|Pharmacy and Pharmacology}}
* [[Antiandrogen]]
* [[Androgen insensitivity syndrome]]
* [[Steroid rosacea]]
* [[Steroid use in Bollywood]]
* [[Bigger, Stronger, Faster*]]
* [[Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits & How Baseball Got Big]]
* [[Selective androgen receptor modulator]]

==References==
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book | author = Yesalis CE | title = Anabolic Steroids in Sport and Exercise | publisher = Human Kinetics | year = 2000 | location = | pages = | doi = | isbn = 0-88011-786-9 }}
* {{cite book | author = Daniels RC | title = The Anabolic Steroid Handbook | publisher = RCD Books | date = February 1, 2003 | location = | page = 80 | doi = | isbn = 0-9548227-0-6 }}
* {{cite book | author = Gallaway S | title = The Steroid Bible | publisher = Belle Intl | edition = 3rd Sprl | date = January 15, 1997 | location = | page = 125 | doi = | isbn = 1-890342-00-9 }}
* {{cite book | author = Llewellyn W | authorlink = | title = ANABOLICS 2007 : Anabolic Steroid Reference Manual | edition = 6th | publisher = Body of Science | date = January 28, 2007 | location = | page = 988 | isbn = 978-0-9679304-6-6 }}
* {{cite book | author = Roberts A, Clapp B | title = Anabolic Steroids: Ultimate Research Guide | publisher = Anabolic Books, LLC | date = January 2006 | location = | page = 394 | doi = | isbn = 1-59975-100-3 }}
* {{cite journal | author = Tygart TT | title =Steroids, the Media, and Youth | journal = Prevention Researcher Integrated Research Services, Inc., | volume = 16 | issue = 7–9 |date=December 2009 | publisher = SIRS Researcher | url = http://www.tpronline.org/download-free-article.cfm?id=548 }}
* {{cite web | url = http://business.highbeam.com/435553/article-1G1-138418723/do-look-ok-question-many-teens-struggle-every-day-and | author = Eisenhauer L | title = Do I Look OK? | publisher = St. Louis Post-Dispatch (St. Louis, MO) | date = Nov 7, 2005 | accessdate = 25 Oct 2010}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
* [http://www.dmoz.org/Sports/Strength_Sports/Bodybuilding/Supplements/Anabolic_Steroids Dmoz Directory of websites on anabolic steroids]
*National Institute on Drug Abuse: "[http://teens.drugabuse.gov/drug-facts/anabolic-steroids NIDA for Teens: Anabolic Steroids]".

{{Anabolic steroids}}
{{Androgens}}
{{Androgenics}}
{{Dopaminergics}}
{{Serotonergics}}

[[Category:Anabolic steroids|*]]
[[Category:Bodybuilding]]
[[Category:Endocrine system]]
[[Category:Exercise physiology]]
[[Category:Doping in sport]]
[[Category:IARC Group 2A carcinogens]]

{{Link GA|fr}}

Revision as of 15:37, 12 May 2014

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