“It was not clear whether the illicit use of anabolic steroids caused a long-term or even persistent impairment of testosterone production in the testicles,” said study author Dr. Jon Rasmussen, a scientist at Rigshospitalet, an extreme hospital. specialist 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 enhance their bodies: “Don’t even consider it. The use of anabolic steroids can cause persistent side effects on many organs in the body and could even be fatal.
Anabolic steroids are synthetic, laboratory-made variants of the male sex hormone testosterone. The use of these artificial steroids affects the hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular hormonal axis, which in turn stops testicular testosterone production and affects fertility, Rasmussen said.
“The recovery of this hormonal axis may be long-term or (it) cannot be recovered at all,” he said.
The use of anabolic steroids has been linked to decreased testicles, lower testosterone levels, decreased sexual appetite, poor erections and low sperm counts, as well as breast growth and hair loss.
“A lot of 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 who was not involved in the study.
“The real story is that the vast majority of anabolic steroid users – more than 90% – are not elite athletes. “said Bhasin, who led the testosterone treatment working group for the latest Endocrine Society Clinical Practice Guide.
Long-term testicular damage
The study, published Tuesday in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, looked at 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 gave up 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 factor 3 (INSL3), a hormone produced by the same testosterone cells that produce testosterone.
Compared to users never before, men who once used steroids had much lower concentrations of INSL3. The more steroids men used, the lower the levels, the study found.
“One of the main methods to consider the study is that former users of anabolic steroids still have gonadal dysfunction more than 2 years after stopping (anabolic steroids),” said Rasmussen.
“The study is important for confirming what clinicians caring for patients have known before – long-term use of anabolic steroids may suppress testicular function, and even when these men have stopped using anabolic steroids, recovery of testicular function may be incomplete or recovery may not occur, “Bhasin said.
Anabolic steroid abuse
Liver damage can also occur, along with a rare condition called hepatic peliosis, in which blood-filled cysts form in the liver and break out.
Some studies have found a link 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 continues to grow, Bhasin said.
“There is this widespread, widely held perception that somehow these drugs are safe and side effects can be managed,” Bhasin said. “But studies now show that 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 then, depending on how long they use it, many of these men will not fully recover when they stop using it.”