Tweet
the reason we are crazy
Steroid Use May Cause Mental Disorders
NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Long-term users of male anabolic steroids, including the hormone testosterone, run the risk of developing something more than bigger muscles. According to researchers from South Africa, "paranoid," "schizophrenic," "antisocial," and "histrionic" personalities were diagnosed more frequently in 12 male bodybuilders who used steroids for up to 18 months compared to a group that did not.
The authors, from the University of Cape Town, say these personality traits were not present prior to steroid use. Information supplied by friends and relatives indicated that before starting steroids, the users' behavior patterns had been similar to those of nonusers of steroids.
"This study suggests that androgenic anabolic steroid (AAS) use significantly increases the frequency and severity of symptoms of personality disorder... and adds to the growing evidence of the dangers of their use," write the authors. Their report appears in the September issue of the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
The study's main results came from the inside, as it were -- the lead study author, Craig J. Cooper, "infiltrated" a group of bodybuilders who used steroids.
"This study allowed the personality traits to be observed uniquely first hand in subjects using high doses and multiple combinations of AAS," Cooper says.
In addition to his direct observation, and with the bodybuilders' consent, Cooper also conducted "informal" interviews aimed at tapping diagnostic criteria as set forth in the bible of psychiatric disorders -- the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
The authors state that their study supports a growing number of reports that chronic steroid use leads to serious personality changes. They also note that use of the drugs now extends well beyond the realm of competitive sports "to include recreational and non-competitive athletes and school children, who now make up the large majority of AAS users."
SOURCE: British Journal of Sports Medicine (1996;30:246-250)
NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Long-term users of male anabolic steroids, including the hormone testosterone, run the risk of developing something more than bigger muscles. According to researchers from South Africa, "paranoid," "schizophrenic," "antisocial," and "histrionic" personalities were diagnosed more frequently in 12 male bodybuilders who used steroids for up to 18 months compared to a group that did not.
The authors, from the University of Cape Town, say these personality traits were not present prior to steroid use. Information supplied by friends and relatives indicated that before starting steroids, the users' behavior patterns had been similar to those of nonusers of steroids.
"This study suggests that androgenic anabolic steroid (AAS) use significantly increases the frequency and severity of symptoms of personality disorder... and adds to the growing evidence of the dangers of their use," write the authors. Their report appears in the September issue of the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
The study's main results came from the inside, as it were -- the lead study author, Craig J. Cooper, "infiltrated" a group of bodybuilders who used steroids.
"This study allowed the personality traits to be observed uniquely first hand in subjects using high doses and multiple combinations of AAS," Cooper says.
In addition to his direct observation, and with the bodybuilders' consent, Cooper also conducted "informal" interviews aimed at tapping diagnostic criteria as set forth in the bible of psychiatric disorders -- the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
The authors state that their study supports a growing number of reports that chronic steroid use leads to serious personality changes. They also note that use of the drugs now extends well beyond the realm of competitive sports "to include recreational and non-competitive athletes and school children, who now make up the large majority of AAS users."
SOURCE: British Journal of Sports Medicine (1996;30:246-250)
Comment