Sample header image

Steroids

Steroids are man-made substances related to male sex hormones.  Anabolic steroids increase muscle mass and androgenic steroids increase masculine features.  These drug are available by prescription and are used to treat conditions that occur when the body is producing low amounts of testosterone.  Low testosterone creates delayed puberty and some forms of impotence.  The other reason that this drug may be prescribed is for people experiencing a disease that lowers lean muscle mass, such as, AIDS.

Twelfth -graders reported an increase in usage from 1.7% in 2001 to 2.4% in 2004.  As awareness to side effects became known, steroid usage decreased in 2005 to 1.5% where it remains in 2008.

Steroids can be taken orally or injected.  When taken in cycles of weeks or months it is referred to as cycling.  The drug will be taken in multiple doses over a specific period of time, then stopping and repeating the cycle.  Typically, users will combine different types of steroids during this cycling period, which is referred to as stacking. 

Universal biological side effects:

  • Liver tumors
  • Kidney tumors
  • Cancer
  • Jaundice
  • Fluid retention
  • High blood pressure
  • Increased LDL (bad cholesterol)
  • Decreased HDL (healthy cholesterol)
  • Severe acne
  • Trembling

Universal psychological side effects:

  • Extreme moodiness
  • Manic like symptoms
  • Depression when the drug leaves the body
  • Paranoid jealousy
  • Extreme irritability
  • Delusions
  • Impaired judgment

Gender specific side effects:

Male:

  • Decrease in testicle size
  • Reduced sperm count
  • Infertility
  • Baldness
  • Breast development

Women:

  • Growth of facial hair
  • Male-pattern baldness
  • Changes in or halting of the menstrual cycle
  • Clitoris enlargement
  • Deepened voice

Adolescents:

  •  Premature skeletal maturation
  • Accelerate puberty changes
  • If adolescents take steroids prior to their growth spurt they will inevitably be shorter than average for the rest of their life.


http://www.monitoringthefuture.org/

The literature was synthesized from NIDA (National Institute on Drug Abuse) Info Facts

Back to top