How serious is steroid abuse among youngsters?
Dr. Achar: Available data come from surveys based on self-reports, so they aren’t terribly reliable. But steroid abuse is probably more prevalent than most people think (Figure 1). Recent studies of 8th, 10th, and 12th graders found that about 3% of the students admit to some steroid use. Approximately 500,000 adolescents have used steroids at some point in time, according to the surveys, and about half that many are currently using them. Q: How dangerous are steroids? Dr. Achar: Steroids can have a broad spectrum of medical consequences, but in teenagers, the major ones to worry about involve damage to the brain and heart. Adolescents already have increased rates of suicide and injury, and taking steroids—or stopping them quickly—increases that risk. Rage and recklessness also go up. The cardiac impact is more insidious and may not become obvious until the youngsters are 10-15 years older. It is known that steroids increase LDL and BP and can produce structural changes in the heart (e
