History of Steroid Abuse Paper Example

The use of anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS), also known as androgens, has developed over the last many decades into a global substance abuse problem. Testosterone isolation was carried out in the 1930s. After that, the world has witnessed the development of various synthetic androgens. The discovery of the anabolic impacts of these hormones led to their rapid spread in elite athletes and bodybuilders from 1950s to 1970s. For instance, in the 1960s, the German government forced their athletes to take high doses of anabolic steroids. In the 1980s, there was a widespread use of steroids penetrated the athletic world and the general population. Specifically, the 1988 Olympic 100m final is the most notable example of how doping scandal among elite athletes. Steroid abuse among the athletes has been associated with adverse impacts on the health of the users or abusers (Kanayama and Pope).

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Mode of Use

Steroids are usually used through injectables, where a needle is used to inject the drug directly into the circulatory system (intravenously) or into the muscle. They can also be consumed orally as pills or tabs. Additionally, they can be rubbed directly onto the user's skin as creams. Injection is the most preferred means of self-administration of steroids. A study carried out to establish a more comprehensive profile of AAS users found out that injection is the most common way of introducing the drug to the body (95%). In the same study, researchers reported that injections were preferred over oral intake of the drug (77%) as the drug users believed injection yield better results compared to oral AAS (Cohen et al.).

Even though steroids can be consumed in a single occurrence, other users prefer to take them in complicated patterns called stacking, cycling, or pyramiding. These three methods lead to very high doses, usually 10 to 100 times, compared to those recommended for medical reasons. They are generally used as a combination of different substances which creates large dose regimens, which are normally self-administered in 1-3 months cycles. The combination of smaller dosages of various drugs is based on the premise that smaller doses of many drugs may lead to decreased chances of developing complications compared to large doses of one drug. Moreover, combining many drugs facilitates the administration of many AASs for a prolonged period, thus reducing the plateauing effect. Additionally, when multiple drugs are combined, there is a blend of characteristics, which leads to avoidance of overlap of benefits or side effects. AAS are usually cycled, with episodes of drug use found between periods of recovery or abstinence, to enable the bodys hormonal systems to revert to homeostasis. Studies show that cycle length may vary from 1 week to 728 weeks (Cohen et al.).

Motivation for steroid abuse among athletes

Several reasons have been cited for AAS use. Studies have revealed that increased muscle mass, improved physical appearance, and enhanced strength are the most the primary motivators of AAS use. Other less significant motivators of steroid use include enhanced mood, improved confidence, reduced fat and attraction of sexual partners. Some other rarely mentioned motives for AAS use include prevention of injuries, amateur sports, enhanced indurance, weightlifting for recreational purposes, and amateur bodybuilding (Cohen et al.).

Prevalence of steroid abuse among athletes

A meta-analysis of worlds lifetime prevalence rate of steroid use indicates that the prevalence rates among all the studies reviewed are 3.3 %. Genderwise, the overall prevalence rates of abuse of AAS is significantly higher in men (6.4%) than in women (1.6%). Regarding sample characteristic, results from this meta-analysis show that AAS abuse is highly prevalent among professional athletes and recreational sports people than in detainees, non-athletic individuals, drug abusers, and high school, children. This finding is in agreement with evidence showing that the chances of AAS use to rise by nearly 91% with involvement in at least one sporting activity. Similarly, meta-regressional analysis proved the relationship between participation in athletics and abuse of AAS, with involvement in athletics being the best predictor of AAS prevalence (Sagoe et al.).

Findings from this meta-analysis also indicated that most AAS users start using the drug in their teenage years. Hence there is a higher prevalence rate among teenagers compared to adults aged 19 and above. Moreover, differences in prevalence rates among regions was noted. Specifically, the Middle East and South America were found to have the highest overall rates. One possible explanation for such high prevalence rates is that quite a good number of studies from this regions utilized self-reports from athletes and recreational athletes, a demographic group which has been reported to have the highest prevalence of AAS use. Lastly, a high incidence rate of AAS abuse was found in North America, Oceania, and Europe than in Asia and Africa. This could be due to the fascination with muscularity as a description of masculinity in Western countries (Sagoe et al.).

Effects

Physical Effects

The process by which steroids affect the body is complicated. Basically, these drugs work through stimulation of some parts of muscle cells. Such stimulating effects lead to increased manufacture of proteins, which are related to an increase in muscle mass. Steroids affect the users body in two main ways. First, steroids have androgenic effects, such as masculinizing impacts including an increase in the size of some male sex glands, the growth of facial hair, and deepening of the voice. Second, these drugs can have anabolic effects on the body, such as enhanced muscle mass, an increase in the size of certain internal organs, and growth of bone calcium.

Anabolic-androgenic steroids are artificially made testosterone, a hormone which is necessary for the development of muscles, and are consumed by human because of its effect on the body. Some of the effects of steroids include rapid muscle growth, usually, go to unhealthy extremes. Such muscle growth occurs along with weight training to accelerate repair of damaged tissues as a result of a workout.

AAS is commonly used because of its therapeutic effect and is usually employed in the treatment of muscle wasting and Male hypogonadism. However, the use of this drug without a prescription is contrary to the laws and is regarded as a form of cheating in almost all competitive sporting events. Men whose testosterone blood plasma levels are lower than 300 to 1000 ng/dl are capable of being treated.

Psychological Effects

Psychological and behavioral effects are associated with AAS abuse. Interestingly, this has potentially harmful and beneficial implications on the user. Major mood syndromes such as hypomania and mania have been reported by people who abuse AAS in high doses as they are easily irritated by things and individuals around them and face increased aggression. The increase in aggressiveness is the sole benefit of an athlete participating in any sport, but this may occur outside the arena posing a risk to nonsteroid users because ASS users show a lot of mood swings and a surge in psychotic incidents. Additionally, aggressive acts such as undirected anger and hostility are experienced by AAS users and can easily lead to anxiety and low self-esteem among athletes. Athletes are also known to show violent outbursts towards people perceived by the abuser as threats. These changes are as a result of variations in the hormones induced by AAS abuse.

Studies have also reported AAS causes withdrawal and dependency disorders. Acute AAS withdrawal can lead to symptoms such as anorexia, lack of sleep, sweats, anxiety, high blood pressure, nausea, irritability, piloerection, vomiting, myalgia, chills, and piloerection, which are associated with central noradrenergic hyperactivity. Withdrawal may also lead to AAS craving and depression (Maravelias et al.).

AAS are also psychologically addictive, and may sometimes meet the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for psychoactive substance dependence. They have been found to cause electrophysiological changes akin to those displayed in individual who use psychostimulant drugs. Also, AAS withdrawal has been reported to cause physical withdrawal symptoms similar to those manifested in opium withdrawal, especially in instances of very high doses of AAS. Additionally, studies have shown that the developing nervous system of children is at the greatest risk of psychological effects of AAS. Adolescents have shown an inability to cope with AAS-induced mood alterations. Additionally, individuals who use AAS have impaired social skills and controls and thus lack the ability to deal with changes associated with puberty. Other reports indicate that there is an association between hormonal concentrations and the emotional outlooks and aggression in adolescents. Specifically, elevated hormonal levels have been associated with negative psychological effects in children (Maravelias et al.).

Cardiovascular Effects

Cardiovascular problems such as hypertension, stroke, pulmonary embolism, and myocardial infarction are connected with the use of AAS. Myocardial infarction has caused sudden cardiac death among some athletes who have abused AAS. According to Nieminen et al., a 31-year-old male body-builder, who had taken anabolic steroids for two years to increase muscle mass suffered congestive heart failure, left ventricular hypertrophy and the echocardiography revealed left ventricular hypertrophy and dilatation (6). Because of AAS use, Low-Density Lipoprotein cholesterol is elevated resulting in coronary spasm with a combination of platelet aggression. Athletes who use AAS are likely to develop thickening of the muscular walls of the left ventricle; a situation called left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) which can either be mild or severe. Excessive use of steroid makes them susceptible to sudden cardiac death.

AAS may also have an adverse effect on serum lipid profile, but their long-term impact on the development of coronary artery disease has not yet been established. Some of the cardiovascular-related conditions which are associated with AAS are limb loss, myocardial infarctions, and strokes. AAS users are also at a higher risk of developing atherosclerotic heart disease due to reduced HDL cholesterol and increased LDL cholesterol HDL and LDL cholesterol levels may go back to normal or may not change after termination of AAS abuse. High blood pressure is linked to AAS abuse, and myocardial infarction has been widely reported in athletes who have had long-term abuse of AAS (Maravelias et al.).

Effects on Muscles and Skeleton

AAS abuse has been associated with early epiphyseal closure in any adolescent, which leads to a reduction in adult height following long-term exposure to androgens. It is also believed that AAS abuse leads to the elevated risk of musculotendinous injuries. Tendons of AAS abusers do not increase in strength like muscles do. Consequently, when subjected to intense and frequent training, they are at a higher risk of rupturing (Maravelias et al.).

Effects on the Endocrine System

Long-term exposure to AAS has been in a prepubertal or pubertal male has been reported to hasten maturation. Abuse of these drugs has also been known to lead to changes in glucose tolerance and subsequent resistance to insulin. In addition, its use leads to acne because of stimulation of sebaceous glands by androgen hormones. Other effects include temporal hair recession in both men and women, hirsutism in women, irregularities in menstruation, and deepened voice in women (Maravelias et al.)

Renal and Immunologic Effects

Use of AAS may result in the rise of blood urine nitrogen (BUN), serum c...