Anabolic steroids : lots of muscle in the short-term, potentially devastating health consequences in the long-term

Why do people use anabolic steroids? Most researchers and health professionals with an interest in this area could tell you, correctly, that the answer is increasingly 'to be more muscular and attractive' rather than 'to compete better in my sport' or 'to do my job better' [1].Embedded within this motivation, however, is a rarely acknowledged fact that has implications for researchers, health professionals and the public: steroids are extremely effective at building large amounts of muscle in a very short amount of time [2]. In contrast, the most significant health consequences of steroid use, including a twofold increase in mortality because of cardiovascular causes [3], appear only in the long-term, many years after the commencement of use. Acknowledgement and understanding of the effectiveness of steroids are important for remedying users' perceptions that health professionals 'don't know' anything about steroids, improving aetiological models of steroid use, and for improving prevention and treatment efforts.