The Frequency of Anabolic Steroid Abuse in Bodybuilder Athletes in Kerman City .
GH. Sepehri PhD 1 *, M.Moosavifar GP 2
1 – Associate professor of pharmcology, Dept. of physiology & pharmacology , Kerman University of
Medical sciences, Kerman - IRAN.
2 – General practitioner , Kerman - IRAN.
Introduction : Athletes, especially bodybuilders, abuse anabolic steroid drugs to improve their strength and enhance their muscle growth and appearance . Since the frequency of the anabolic steroid abuse was not known in Kerman city , so this study was conducted to determine the type and frequency of anabolic steroid abuse by bodybuilder athletes.
Material and Methods : To determine the frequency of anabolic steroid abuse in bodybuilder athletes in Kerman city, a confidential questionnaire which included the demographic data (age , education) , name of abused anabolic drug , duration of drug abuse, was completed by 202 bodybuilder athletes , and the collected data were analysed by routine statistical methods .
Results: The Frequency of anabolic steroid abuse by bodybuilders in Kerman city was 18.8%. The mean period of bodybuilding activity was significantly higher in those who used the anabolic drugs (38.8 months) , comparing to those who did not use any drugs (14.3 months). Oxymetholone was the most common drug used by athletes , i.e. that 42% of the abusers merely abused Oxy metholone .The frequency of anabolic steroid abuse was not related to education and age of the bodybuilder athletes.
Conclusion: The results of this study showed that anabolic steroids are abused by bodybuilding athletes in Kerman city , so the health care providers should provide more information to athletes about anabolic steroid adverse effects to solve the problem of abusing these drugs by them.
Key words: Anabolic steroid, Bodybuilder athletes, Drug abuse
* Corresponding author, Tel: (0341) 2113187
Journal of Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences and Health Services, 2003, 2(3,4): 213-221Rights and permissions | |
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