“It was unclear whether the illegal use of anabolic steroids caused a prolonged or even persistent decrease in testosterone production in the testicles,” said Dr. Jon Rasmussen, a scientist at Rigshospitalet, a highly specialized hospital affiliated with the University, said. of Copenhagen.
“These results indicate a prolonged dysfunction of the testicles,” Rasmussen said in an email.
His message to men who are considering improving it to improve their body: “Don’t even think about it. Using anabolic steroids can cause persistent adverse effects on various organs in the body and can even be fatal.”
Anabolic steroids are synthetic, laboratory-made variations of the male sex hormone testosterone. The use of these artificial steroids impairs the hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular hormonal axis, which in turn stops the testicular production of testosterone and impairs fertility, Rasmussen said.
“The recovery of these hormonal axes may be long-term or (it) may not recover at all,” he said.
The use of anabolic steroids has been linked to shrunken testicles, lower testosterone levels, reduced sex drive, poor erections and low sperm counts, as well as breast growth and hair loss.
“Many people think that anabolic steroid abuse is just a problem of cheating in sports among professional athletes,” said Dr. Shalender Bhasin, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, said he was not involved in the study.
“The true story is that the vast majority of anabolic steroid users – more than 90% – are not elite athletes. In fact, they are not athletes at all. It is recreational bodybuilders who use these compounds to look slimmer and more muscular. ., “said Bhasin, who chaired the testosterone treatment task force for the latest Endocrine Society Clinical Practice Guideline.
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 exercised vigorously in recreation. The men split into three groups: never users, current users or former users of anabolic steroids who had stopped almost three years before.
Because testosterone levels fluctuate throughout the day, the study used a new marker to determine a lack of testicular function, serum insulin-like factor 3 (INSL3), a hormone produced by the same cells in the testes.
Compared to never users, men who once used steroids had much lower concentrations of INSL3. The longer the men used steroids, the lower the levels, the study found.
“One of the major take-away from the study is that former anabolic steroid users continue to show gonadal dysfunction more than 2½ years after the cessation of (anabolic steroids),” Rasmussen said.
“The study is important to confirm what clinicians caring for patients previously knew. Prolonged use of anabolic steroids can suppress testicular function, and even when these men have stopped using anabolic steroids, recovery of testicular function may be incomplete. be or recovery may not occur, ”Bhasin said.
Anabolic steroid abuse
Liver damage can also occur, along with a rare condition called peliosis hepatis, in which blood-filled cysts form and burst in the liver.
Some studies have found an association between anabolic steroids and irritability and aggression. Others have linked moderate to high doses of anabolic steroids to anxiety, mania and major depression.
And the list of side effects is still rising, Bhasin said.
“There is this popular perception, widespread, that somehow these drugs are safe and that the side effects can be controlled,” Bhasin said. ‘But studies now show that it is linked to cardiovascular disease, even early cognitive dysfunction.
“And 100% of the men who use anabolic steroids in large doses will have problems with testosterone and sperm production, and then many of these men, depending on the duration of use, will not fully recover if they stop using.”