History of Anabolic Steroids in Sports

When were anabolic steroids discovered?

 
      Until 1935, no one knew that anabolic steroids were associated
 with the accumulation of muscle tissue.  In that year, two
 researchers experimenting on dogs discovered that testosterone
 given under certain conditions would increase muscle mass.(1,2) 
 Hitler may have given some of his troops anabolic steroids to
 increase their aggressiveness, although this is not well-
 documented.(3)  

      The current history of anabolic steroids as abusable drugs
 began in 1954 among Olympic weightlifters.(1,2,4) 
 In 1956, Dianabol (Methandrostenolone) was first marketed in the
 United States, clearing the way for the use of anabolics by U. S.
 athletes.(4)  At first, only world-class athletes in high-
 strength sports such as weight lifting abused anabolics.(5,6) 
 Among Olympic athletes, anabolic steroids were a problem as long
 ago as 1964.(6)  Athletes and their trainers developed high dose,
 multiple-drug regimens that were not based on scientific
 research.  These methods of use were passed by word of mouth from
 one training group to another.  Even today, the use of many types
 of steroids in high doses has never been examined in controlled
 scientific studies.(5)  

      Anabolic steroid abusers mistrust scientific opinions about
 high-dose steroid use.(7)  When it was first noticed as a
 growing problem, some scientists and public officials stated that
 there was no evidence that steroids caused muscle growth or
 improved performance, and that use of large amounts would lead to
 dramatic, toxic side effects in all users.  These pronouncements
 went against the common knowledge and experience of the athletes,
 who did not see large numbers of their steroid-using friends
 dropping dead.(6,8)  Scientific information sources were
 thus discredited among athletes.  

      As their reputation grew, anabolic abuse spread to other
 sports.  Today, the only Olympic sports in which anabolic steroids
 have not been detected are women's field hockey and figure
 skating.(1)

      Steroid abuse spread beyond the Olympics throughout the 1970's
 and 1980's.  In 1983, nineteen athletes were disqualified from the
 Olympics for steroid abuse.(9)  A 1970 survey of five
 American universities showed that 15% of college athletes were
 steroid abusers.(10,11)  By 1984, 20% of college athletes
 were using steroids.(11)  In 1975, anabolic abuse in Arizona
 high schools was 0.7% over all, with 4% of athletes admitting 
 steroid use.(10)  A 1986 survey in Minneapolis revealed a 3%
 average rate of steroid abuse in grades 8, 10, and 12.(10) 
 In one of these high schools, the rate of use was 8% in senior
 males.(10)  In a 1988 survey in a suburban Chicago school,
 6.5% of male students admitted taking steroids, and 2.5% of female
 students admitted steroid use.(12)  Surveys in 1989 estimate
 that there are 500,000 adolescent steroid abusers nationwide, and
 as many as 1 million steroid abusers of all ages in the United
 States.(6,10,13)  In November 1990, U. S. Federal Law
 reclassified all anabolic steroids as Controlled Dangerous
 Substances.(14)

 REFERENCES

 
 1.   Kleiner SM. Performance-enhancing aids in sport - health
      consequences and nutritional alternatives. J Amer Coll Nutr
      1991 Apr;10(2):163-76.
 
 2.   Bergman R, Leach RE. The use and abuse of anabolic steroids in
      olympic - caliber athletes. Clin Orthopaed Rel Res 1985
      Sep;198:169-72.
 
 3.   Pope HG, Katz DL. Homicide and near-homicide by anabolic
      steroid users. Journal Of Clinical Psychiatry 1990
      Jan;51(1):28-31.
 
 4.   Windsor R, Dumitru D. Prevalence of anabolic steroid use by
      male and female adolescents. Med Sci Sports Exercise 1989
      Oct;21(5):494-7.
 
 5.   Wilson JD. Androgen abuse by athletes. Endocrine Reviews
      1988;9(2):181-99.
 
 6.   Yesalis CE, Wright JE, Bahrke MS. Epidemiological and policy
      issues in the measurement of the long term health effects of
      anabolic-androgenic steroids. Sports Medicine 1989
      Sep;8(3):129-38.
 
 7.   Ambre JJ. Medical and nonmedical uses of anabolic-androgenic
      steroids. J Am Med Assoc 1990 Dec 12;264(22):2923-7.
 
 8.   Knuth UA, Maniera H, Nieschlag E. Anabolic steroids and semen
      parameters in bodybuilders. Fertility And Sterility 1989
      Dec;52(6):1041-7.
 
 9.   Wagner JC. Abuse of drugs used to enhance athletic
      performance. American Journal Of Hospital Pharmacy 1989
      Oct;46:2059-67.

 10.  Buckley WE, Yesalis CE, Friedl KE, Anderson WA, Streit AL,
      Wright JE. Estimated prevalence of anabolic steroid use among
      male high school seniors. J Am Med Assoc 1988 Dec
      16;260(23):3441-5.
 
 11.  Smith DA, Perry PJ. The efficacy of ergogenic agents in
      athletic competition. part 1: androgenic-anabolic steroids.
      Annals Pharmacother 1992 Apr;26:520-8.
 
 12.  Terney R, McLain LG. The use of anabolic steroids in high
      school students. American Journal Of Diseases Of Children 1990
      Jan;144(1):99-103.
 
 13.  Kashkin KB, Kleber HD. Hooked on hormones - an anabolic
      steroid addiction hypothesis. J Am Med Assoc 1989 Dec
      8;262(22):3166-70.
 
 14.  Brower KJ. Addictive potential of anabolic steroids.
      Psychiatric Annals 1992 Jan;22(1):30-4.
 

 
 by Trent Tschirgi, R. Ph.
 (c) 1992 University of Maryland Office of Substance Abuse Studies.
 All Rights Reserved.


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