“It has not been made clear whether the illicit use of anabolic steroids caused persistent or even persistent impairment of testosterone production in the testicles,” said the study’s author, Dr. Jon Rasmussen, a scientist at Rigshospitalet, a highly specialized hospital affiliated with the University of Copenhagen.
“These results suggest long-term testicular dysfunction,” Rasmussen said in an email.
His message to men who are thinking of using them to improve their body: “Don’t even consider it. The use of anabolic steroids can cause persistent adverse effects on various organs of the body and can even be lethal “.
Anabolic steroids are synthetic, laboratory-made variations of the male sex hormone testosterone. The use of these artificial steroids affects the hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular hormonal axis, which stops testicular testosterone production and affects fertility, Rasmussen said.
“Recovery from this hormonal axis may be long-term or it may not recover at all,” he said.
Anabolic steroid use has been linked to reduced testicles, lower testosterone levels, decreased sexual desire, poor erections and low sperm count, as well as breast growth and hair loss.
“A lot of people think that anabolic steroid abuse is just a problem of sports cheating among professional athletes,” said Dr. Shalender Bhasin, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School who did not participate in the study.
“The real story is that the vast majority of anabolic steroid users (over 90%) are not elite athletes. In fact, they are not athletes. They are recreational bodybuilders who use these compounds to look leaner and more muscular.” , said Bhasin, who chaired the working group on testosterone treatment for the latest Endocrine Society Clinical Practice Guide.
Long-term testicular damage
The study, published Tuesday in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, followed 132 men between the ages of 18 and 50 who did strength recreational training. The men were divided into three groups: never users, current users or former users of anabolic steroids who quit smoking almost three years earlier.
Because testosterone levels fluctuate throughout the day, the study used a new marker to determine the lack of testicular function called serum insulin-like factor 3 (INSL3), a hormone made by the testicular cells themselves. who make testosterone.
Compared to users who never had it, men who once used steroids had much lower concentrations of INSL3. The longer men had used steroids, the lower the levels, according to the study.
“One of the main contributions of the study is that former anabolic steroid users still show gonadal dysfunction more than 2½ years after cessation (anabolic steroid),” Rasmussen said.
“The study is important to confirm what doctors who treat patients have previously known: long-term use of anabolic steroids can suppress testicular function, and even when these men stopped using anabolic steroids, recovery of testicular function may be incomplete or recovery may not happen, ”Bhasin said.
Anabolic steroid abuse
Liver damage can also occur, along with a rare condition called peliosis hepatis, in which blood-filled cysts form in the liver and explode.
Some studies have found a link between anabolic steroids and irritability and aggression. Others have linked moderate to high doses of anabolic steroids with anxiety, mania, and major depression.
And the list of side effects continues to grow, Bhasin said.
“There is this popular perception, widely out of place, that somehow these drugs are safe and side effects can be controlled,” Bhasin said. “But now there are studies that show they are related to cardiovascular disease, even early cognitive dysfunction.
“And 100% of men who use high-dose anabolic steroids will have problems with testosterone and sperm production, and depending on the length of use, many of these men will not fully recover when they stop using it.” .