Endocrine Abstracts

JOINT2819

Background and objectives: The use of anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) among younger men has increased, giving rise to a public health concern. Despite this alarming trend, the long-term effects of AAS on mental health – particularly depression, cognitive function and anxiety remains poorly understood. The objective of this study was to assess these psychological and cognitive outcomes in former illicit users of AAS years after cessation and comparing them to current users and healthy age-matched never-users of AAS.

Methods: A cross-sectional study including men involved in recreational strength training grouped according to their history of AAS use. Three validated questionnaires were used to assess self-reported mental health participants: Major Depression Inventory (MDI), Cognitive complaints in bipolar disorder rating assessment (COBRA) and General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7). Higher scores indicate more pronounced symptoms in all three questionnaires.

Results: We initially recruited 79 previous and 193 current AAS users, as well as 57 healthy age-matched never-users. We excluded 14 previous and 31 current AAS users who had previously been diagnosed and treated for psychiatric disorders, our final study population consisted of 65 previous and 162 current AAS users. The mean (SD) age was 35 (9) years. Elapsed duration of cessation of AAS geometric mean (95 CI) was 1.9 (0.9-3.0) years in previous users. Previous AAS users consistently exhibited more pronounced symptoms of depression, cognitive dysfunction and anxiety compared to current AAS users and controls, expressed as a higher score in the MDI, COBRA and GAD-7, respectively (table). Using multiple linear regression models adjusted for age, duration of AAS use, and level of education, low serum testosterone was significantly associated with higher scores of depression (P = 0.041) and showed borderline associations with cognitive dysfunction (P = 0.075) and anxiety (P = 0.07).

Conclusions: Previous AAS users displayed increased levels of self-reported depression, cognitive dysfunction and anxiety compared to healthy age-matched non-users years after AAS cessation.