Effects Of Steroid Use Research Articles

Little Help from Article on Anaboiic Steroids

To the Editor.— As a high school teacher I have been looking for guidance on preventing the abuse of anabolic steroids by our students. The article "Anabolic Steroid Use by Male Adolescents" by Johnson et al1 not only failed to provide this guidance, but the results failed to support the authors' conclusions. The study shows that, of the teenage users of steroids surveyed, 38% correctly identified liver disease, 35% cancer of the liver, and 30% stunted growth as side effects of steroid use.

Effects of Anabolic Steroids on Lipoprotein Profiles of Female Weight Lifters.

In brief The effects of resistance exercise and anabolic steroids on lipoprotein profiles were examined in female weight lifters. Steroid users had significantly depressed levels of HDL-C, HDI-2-C (p <.05), and apolipoprotein (apo) A-I compared with nonusers and controls. Nonusers had significantly higher levels of HDL-C and HDL2-C than the controls. Users had significantly less favorable ratios of total cholesterol (TC) to HDL-C, HDL2-C to HDL3-C, and apo A-I to apo B than nonusers or controls. Women who participate in resistance training apparently have significantly better lipoprotein profiles than their sedentary counterparts, but these changes do not offset the deleterious effects of steroid use.

Study Proposes to Examine Football Players, Power Lifters for Possible Long-term Sequelae From Anabolic Steroid Use in 1970s Competition

MOST PHYSICIANS agree that athletes who take anabolic steroids may be at risk for later health problems. Now, a proposed case-control study involving former college football players and power lifters who competed between 1970 and 1979 may provide new information. A pilot study involving some 200 former athletes from six schools was completed in April, and the researchers hope to begin the full-scale study this summer. The principal investigators are Charles Yesalis, PhD, professor in the College of Human Development at Pennsylvania State University, University Park, and MAJ James Wright, PhD, chief of the Exercise Science Branch at the Soldier Physical Fitness School at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indianapolis. Yesalis, an epidemiologist, says the short-term effects of steroid use are fairly well-known (changes in blood lipid concentrations and a decrease in sperm production, for example) and that more can be gained by looking at men who have had a latency period