From the Director Since the 1950s, some athletes have been taking anabolic steroids to build muscle and boost their athletic performance. Increasingly, other segments of the population also have been taking these compounds. The Monitoring the Future study, which is an annual survey of drug abuse among adolescents across the country, showed a significant increase from 1998 to 1999 in steroid abuse among middle school students. During the same year, the percentage of 12th-graders who believed that taking these drugs causes "great risk" to health, de-clined from 68 percent to 62 percent. Studies show that, over time, anabolic steroids can indeed take a heavy toll on a person's health. The abuse of oral or injectable steroids is associated with higher risks for heart attacks and strokes, and the abuse of most oral steroids is associated with increased risk for liver problems. Steroid abusers who share needles or use nonsterile techniques when they inject steroids are at risk for contracting dangerous infections, such as HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B and C, and bacterial endocarditis. Anabolic steroid abuse can also cause undesirable body changes. These include breast development and genital shrinking in men, masculinization of the body in women, and acne and hair loss in both sexes. These and other effects of steroid abuse are discussed in this Research Report, which is one of a series of reports on drugs of abuse. NIDA produces this series to increase understanding of drug abuse and addiction and the health effects associated with taking drugs. We hope that this compilation of scientific information on anabolic steroids will help the public recognize the risks of steroid abuse. Alan I. Leshner, Ph.D. Director National Institute on Drug Abuse	Index What are anabolic steroids? What are steroidal supplements? What is the scope of steroid abuse in the United States? Why do people use anabolic steroids? How are anabolic steroids used? What are the health consequences of steroid abuse? What effects do anabolic steroids have on behavior? Are anabolic steroids addictive? What can be done to prevent steroid abuse? What treatments are effective for anabolic steroid abuse? Where can I get further scientific information about steroid abuse? Glossary and References
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All materials appearing in the Research Reports Series are in the public domain and may be part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the principal biomedical and behavioral research agency of the U.S. Government. The NIH is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIDA; NIH; 6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 5213; Bethesda, Maryland 20892-9651; U.S.A. 301-443-1124. For additional information, please send e-mail to Information@lists.nida.nih.gov. Last updated on Wednesday, January 24, 2001.