Knowledge of and attitudes toward the use of anabolic-androgenic steroids among the population of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Ahmed, Maha Haijan; Al-Saud, Najla S; Omar, Abdulkader M; Magadmi, Rania; Hassan, Sabah M.; Al-Qudsi, Fatma

doi:10.4103/jmau.jmau_64_18

Cited by 6 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Our study confirmed the increasing global trend of AAS abuse in the young population; the largest user population in our study was 20–40 years old, consistent with results from other global and regional studies, such as those conducted in Saudi Arabia (Maha et al, 2019 ). Surprisingly, despite cultural differences worldwide, the aims of AAS users are almost identical.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

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The deleterious effects of anabolic androgenic steroid abuse on sexual and reproductive health and comparison of recovery between treated and untreated patients: Single‐center prospective randomized study

Hashimi

2022

Andrologia

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Anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) abuse is a global health‐related concern, as most of the related studies showed increasing trends and deleterious effects, mostly on sexual and fertility health. Unfortunately, there are no consensuses about the management pathways due to the lack of specific guidelines. We aimed to confirm the deleterious effects of AAS abuse, monitor the spontaneous recovery, and demonstrate the effects of treatment regimens on recovery. We enrolled 520 patients with a confirmed history of AAS intake within 1 year of presentation and evaluated their symptoms, hormones levels, and semen every 3 months until 12 months. All patients were monitored for spontaneous recovery in the first 3 months; if they showed no recovery, they were randomized to undergo either continued observation or commence medications. The most common presentation (84%) was a combination of sexual symptoms while some patients (18%) were infertile. Most patients (90%) reported low levels of luteinizing hormone, follicle‐stimulating hormone, and total testosterone. After the 3‐month observation, most patients (89%) started treatment, but some (11%) continued observation only. Treated patients showed faster improvement regarding the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) values, hormone levels, testicular size and semen parameters compared to non‐treated patients (p < 0.005). Among the 94 patients who presented with infertility (18%), 61 had oligospermia and 33 had azoospermia. All received treatment, but only 14 (15%) achieved successful pregnancy at 12 months while all azoospermic's patients continued to have infertility at the end of the follow‐up period. These findings demonstrated the significant negative impact of AAS abuse on sexual health and fertility, and the need for medical treatment to have faster recovery from their adverse effect.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…Even though the AAS abuse is underreported in many communities, and up to 50% of AAS users do not disclose their use to their physician, it is becoming an alarming global phenomenon and well noticed in many regional and global communities (Cohen et al, 2007 ; Graham et al, 2008 ; Maha et al, 2019 ; Pany & Panigraphy, 2019 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The deleterious effects of anabolic androgenic steroid abuse on sexual and reproductive health and comparison of recovery between treated and untreated patients: Single‐center prospective randomized study

Hashimi

2022

Andrologia

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“…AAS abusers' attitudes were explored in our study, including their knowledge about the adverse effects of AAS abuse on sexual and fertility health as most of respondents believed their patients are less knowledgeable or had misconceptions about the AAS adverse effects. This finding also was acknowledged by Ahmed et al study 20 in Jeddah/Saudi Arabia Kingdom who concluded that half of included patients exhibited poor knowledge regarding the side effects of AASs. These are alarming factors, proving the underestimation of AAS adverse effects, thereby raising the urgent need of national awareness programs to provide the knowledge and explanation of adverse effects of AAS abuse and to have better‐governed control over dispensing these medications.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 52%

“…knowledgeable or had misconceptions about the AAS adverse effects. This finding also was acknowledged by Ahmed et al study20 in Jeddah/Saudi Arabia Kingdom who concluded that half of included patients exhibited poor knowledge regarding the side effects of AASs. These are alarming factors, proving the underestimation of AAS adverse effects, thereby raising the urgent need of nationalT A B L E 2…”

supporting

confidence: 52%

Androgenic‐anabolic steroid abuse trend and management: A prospective, cross‐sectional, questionnaire‐based survey

Hashimi

Farahat²,

Kandil

et al. 2023

Health Science Reports

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Background and Aims Androgenic‐anabolic steroid (AAS) abuse is a global health concern, studies revealing an increasing trend of abuse and deleterious effects on reproductive health. Unfortunately, there is no consensus about management pathways due to the lack of specific guidelines. Methods A prospective study, multicentre, online survey, composed of 30 questions, was conducted to investigate the current trend of AAS abuse and the management followed by practitioners from different specialities dealing with this condition. Results A total of 151 respondents were included. The majority were general urologists (68.21%), andrologists (22.51%), and endocrinologists (9.28%). An increasing trend of AAS abuse was noticed by 90.73% of participants mostly in young age populations. Most of AAS abusers were presented with infertility (64.24%) and erectile dysfunction (59.60%), and their investigations showed abnormal semen analysis (77.48%), abnormal hormones (follicle‐stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, testosterone, and estradiol) (94.70%), and reduction in testicular size (50.33%). Most of respondents expected: the need of long duration for spontaneous recovery (6–12 months), relapse of AAS abuse in one‐third of patients, less knowledge about the adverse effects (39.74%), and risk of drug dependence (54.30%). Immediate treatment was the most offered plan of management (44.37%) followed by a waiting spontaneous recovery (32.45%), while the remaining would refer the patients to an either endocrinologist or andrologist. The treating physicians did not follow specific guidelines and most of participants (44.44%) reverted to their personal experience in the management. Conclusions Our study revealed an increasing trend of AAS abuse, deleterious effects of AAS use on reproductive health, and lack of consensuses among the treating physicians regarding the management of related adverse effects. Our study could be considered a call to the scientific bodies to have more studies, establish guidelines for management, and to have better awareness of this serious public health concern.

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“…AASs were made for the sole purpose of treating medical conditions like steroid hormone deficiency, such as delayed puberty, in addition to diseases that cause significant loss of lean muscle mass, like cancer and AIDS patients [ 3 ]. They have also been prescribed to treat hereditary angioedema, which causes swelling of the face, arm, leg, throat, windpipe, intestines, and/or sexual organs, as well as to assist in the treatment of some types of anemia and certain types of breast cancer in some women [ 6 , 7 ]. Bodybuilders and athletes, both recreational and professional, have abused AASs to improve their performance, strength, and endurance [ 4 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Knowledge and Awareness About Anabolic-Androgenic Steroid Use as a Body Shape Enhancer and Its Side Effects Among Adult Gym Participants in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Abumunaser,

Salawati,

Albogami

et al. 2024

Cureus

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Background: Anabolic steroids, often referred to as anabolic-androgenic steroids, are steroidal androgens that include testosterone and other naturally occurring androgens, as well as synthetic androgens that are chemically linked to testosterone and have similar actions. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate the knowledge and awareness about anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) use and its side effects among adult gym participants in Jeddah. A total of 269 adults fulfilling the inclusion criteria were included. The questionnaire covered the demographics, attitudes, and behaviors associated with AAS use and consisted of single-response questions and four multiple-response questions. All statistical methods used were two-tailed with an alpha level of 0.05, considering significance if the p-value was less than or equal to 0.05. The overall awareness score was categorized as "poor" if the students’ score was less than 60% of the overall score and "good" if the students’ score was 60% or more. Descriptive analysis was done by prescribing frequency distributions and percentages for study variables, including the adult's personal data, reasons for going to the gym, and duration. Results: This study shows a prevalence of 6.3% of adults’ use of AAS, which was higher than in some regions in Saudi Arabia. The largest age group that uses AAS, according to this study, is 26-45 years old. A total of 185 (68.8%) were males, and a total of 185 (68.8%) were university graduates. The most reported reasons for going to the gym included fitness (63.2%), muscle building (52.8%), entertainment (39.4%), and weight loss (37.9%). 94.4% of people think that anabolic steroids are harmful to the body, and 80.3% know that misuse of anabolic steroids may lead to problems with the kidneys and liver. 75.1% of male adults and 76.8% of university graduates had good knowledge and awareness. The internet is the most common source of information. Conclusion: Our study provides clear evidence that there is a high awareness of AAS and its side effects and a high prevalence of its use among male gym participants in Jeddah. The use of AAS is a national problem that the authorities need to act on. There is a strong need for health policy reforms to reduce the rise of AAS use among young adults.

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Knowledge of and attitudes toward the use of anabolic-androgenic steroids among the population of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Cited by 6 publications

References 21 publications

The deleterious effects of anabolic androgenic steroid abuse on sexual and reproductive health and comparison of recovery between treated and untreated patients: Single‐center prospective randomized study

The deleterious effects of anabolic androgenic steroid abuse on sexual and reproductive health and comparison of recovery between treated and untreated patients: Single‐center prospective randomized study

Androgenic‐anabolic steroid abuse trend and management: A prospective, cross‐sectional, questionnaire‐based survey

Knowledge and Awareness About Anabolic-Androgenic Steroid Use as a Body Shape Enhancer and Its Side Effects Among Adult Gym Participants in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

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