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Previous Volume 328:922-926 April 1, 1993 Number 13 Next

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ABSTRACT

Background Because adolescent users of anabolic steroids are concerned with increasing muscle size and strength, they may be unique among substance users and unlikely to use other drugs. Alternatively, if the factors that cause the use of anabolic steroids are similar to those associated with the use of other substances, adolescents who use anabolic steroids would be expected to report use of other drugs as well.

Methods We administered a questionnaire based on the 1989 Secondary School Health Risk Survey and the 1990 Youth Risk Behavior Survey of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to 1881 students enrolled in compulsory health-science classes (mean [±SD] age, 14.9 ±1.0 years) in the Richmond County, Georgia, school system.

Results A higher percentage of boys (6.5 percent) than girls (1.9 percent, P 0.001) reported using anabolic steroids without a doctor's prescription. Among ninth-grade students, 5.4 percent of boys and 1.5 percent of girls reported using anabolic steroids (P 0.001). Among users of anabolic steroids, 25 percent reported sharing needles to inject drugs. The frequency of anabolic-steroid use was significantly (P<0.001) associated with the frequency of use in the previous 30 days of cocaine (r = 0.44), injectable drugs, alcohol (r = 0.23), marijuana (r = 0.42), cigarettes (r = 0.25), and smokeless tobacco (r = 0.40). On the basis of multiple regression analysis, the use of marijuana, shared needles, smokeless tobacco, and cocaine accounted for 33 percent of the variation in anabolic-steroid use among the ninth-grade students.

Conclusions In our study, adolescent users of anabolic steroids were likely to use other drugs as well, and many were sharing needles.

Source Information

From the Departments of Pediatrics (R.H.D., G.S.) and Internal Medicine (C.N.), Medical College of Georgia, Augusta; the Department of Pediatrics, Arkansas Children's Hospital, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock (V.I.R.); and the Department of Pediatrics, University of Alabama at Birmingham (C.S.A.).

Address reprint requests to Dr. DuRant at the Section of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, CE-112, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, GA 30912.

Full Text of this Article

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Use of Anabolic Steroids among Adolescents
Thompson P. D., Zmuda J. M., Catlin D. H., DuRant R. H., Rickert V. I., Ashworth C. S.
Extract | Full Text  
N Engl J Med 1993; 329:888-889, Sep 16, 1993. Correspondence

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