Endocrine Abstracts

JOINT3137

Background and objectives: The illicit use of anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) has moved from competitive sports to the broader population and to women. The current knowledge on long-term impact of AAS in women is sparse. Women use AAS to gain a more muscular appearance and lose body fat but the impact on body composition has never been assessed. The objective of this study was to evaluate muscle and fat distribution in current and previous female illicit AAS users compared with never-users.

Methods: Cross-sectional study including women engaged in recreational strength training. Participants were grouped as current or previous users with a 3-month cut-off value for last AAS use. Dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) was used to measure body composition with lean mass, fat mass and fat distribution.

Results: The study included 25 current AAS users, 14 previous users and 20 healthy never-users as controls. Mean (SD) age of all participants was 36 (9) years and mean (SD) body mass index was 24.7 (3.0) kg/m², with no difference between groups. Accumulated median (25th-75th percentiles) duration of AAS use did not differ between current and former users, 1.4 (0.3-4.5) vs 0.9 (0.6-1.9) years, (P = 0.95). The median (25th-75th percentiles) duration since AAS cessation among former users was 4.2 (1.8-5.6) years. Compared with controls, current AAS users displayed lower total body fat percent, 23.9 (4.0) vs 29.6 (5.1)% (P <0.001), and lower total fat mass, 15.5 (3.7) vs 19.9 (5.2) kg (P = 0.002). Current users also had a higher lean mass index than controls, 18.1 (2.4) vs 16.9 (1.4) kg/m² (P = 0.038), yet the fat distribution demonstrated a higher trunk to limb fat ratio, 0.78 (0.22) vs 0.63 (0.11) (P= 0.006). Notably, while total body fat percent, total fat mass and lean mass index did not differ between former users and controls, former users retained a higher trunk to limb fat ratio, 0.72 (0.12) vs 0.63 (0.11) (P = 0.036). There were no significant differences between groups when examining android to gynoid fat ratio and visceral adipose tissue.

Conclusions: Women previously engaged in illicit AAS use display increased trunk to limb fat ratio several years after cessation, suggesting long term adverse impact on fat metabolism.