Illicit Anabolic Steroid Use and Cardiovascular Status in Men and Women

The illicit use of anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) is common among recreational athletes, yet studies on adverse cardiovascular outcomes, especially in female AAS users, are sparse.

To assess cardiovascular status in Danish male and female recreational athletes using AAS compared with not using AAS.

This cross-sectional study in a single center in Denmark included recreational athletes aged 18 years or older who were active AAS users, previous users (defined as those who discontinued AAS use at least 3 months prior to the study), or nonusers, all recruited from fitness centers between March and December 2022.

Cumulative lifetime use of AAS.

Presence of atherosclerosis (carotid, femoral, and coronary artery plaques) and cardiac function assessed by echocardiography. Linear regression was used to estimate regression coefficients for echocardiographic characteristics and logistic regression to estimate odds ratios (ORs) for carotid and femoral plaques, coronary artery calcium (CAC) scores, and coronary noncalcified plaques (NCPs).

Of 164 participants, 80 (48.8%) were active AAS users (median age, 35 [IQR, 30-43] years; 61 men [76.2%]), 26 (15.9%) were previous users (median age, 36 [IQR, 28-51] years; 18 men [69.2%]), and 58 (35.4%) were nonusers (median age, 40 [IQR, 31-46] years; 42 men [72.4%]). Median cumulative lifetime AAS use was 2.2 (IQR, 1.2-7.2) years for active and 2.2 (IQR, 1.0-5.5) years for previous users. No group differences were observed when comparing the number of participants with femoral (active users, 15 [19.7%]; previous users, 5 [19.2%]; nonusers, 11 [20.8%]; P = .89) or carotid (active users, 24 [31.2%]; previous users, 12 [46.2%]; nonusers, 13 [24.1%]; P = .47) artery plaques or CAC scores (median score was 0 across all groups with range of 0-228 for active users, 0-800 for previous users, and 0-163 for nonusers; P = .36), whereas a statistically significant difference in the prevalence of coronary NCPs was found between active users (19 [23.8%]) and nonusers (6 [10.3%]) (P = .03). However, in confounder-adjusted logistic regression, longer cumulative lifetime AAS use was associated with higher odds of a positive CAC score (OR, 1.23; 95% CI, 1.09-1.39; P = .001) and presence of coronary NCPs (OR, 1.17; 95% CI, 1.05-1.30; P = .004). AAS use exceeding 5 years was associated with greater severity of calcifications (n = 94; χ2 = 9.78; P = .04). Echocardiography showed that cumulative AAS use was associated with worse left ventricular (regression coefficient: 0.08; 95% CI, 0.03-0.12; P = .002) and right ventricular (0.08; 95% CI, 0.03-0.13; P = .001) global longitudinal strain. Nearly all athletes (35 of 36) with more than 5 years of cumulative AAS use had ventricular mass greater than and left ventricular ejection fraction below the median of the normal range.

In this cross-sectional study, cumulative lifetime AAS exposure was associated with adverse cardiovascular findings and impaired ventricular function in both sexes, and athletes with AAS exposure exceeding 5 years showed more severe calcification. The findings support measures to prevent AAS use by both men and women in recreational sports.