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Anabolic–Androgenic Steroid Abuse among Gym Users, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia

Background and Objectives: The main aim of the present study was to assess the use of androgenic–anabolic steroids (AAS) and to investigate its potentially unfavorable effects among gym members attending gym fitness facilities in Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. Materials and Methods: A cross-section...

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Autores principales: Albaker, Walied, Alkhars, Ali, Elamin, Yasir, Jatoi, Noor, Boumarah, Dhuha, Al-Hariri, Mohammed
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8306633/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34356984
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/medicina57070703
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author Albaker, Walied
Alkhars, Ali
Elamin, Yasir
Jatoi, Noor
Boumarah, Dhuha
Al-Hariri, Mohammed
author_facet Albaker, Walied
Alkhars, Ali
Elamin, Yasir
Jatoi, Noor
Boumarah, Dhuha
Al-Hariri, Mohammed
author_sort Albaker, Walied
collection PubMed
description Background and Objectives: The main aim of the present study was to assess the use of androgenic–anabolic steroids (AAS) and to investigate its potentially unfavorable effects among gym members attending gym fitness facilities in Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was carried out during the summer of 2017. Male gym users in the Eastern Province region of Saudi Arabia were the respondents. Information on socio-demographics, use of AAS, knowledge, and awareness about its side effects were collected using a self-administered questionnaire. Results: The prevalence of AAS consumption among trainees in Eastern Province was 21.3%. The percentage was highest among those 26–30 years of age (31.9%), followed by the 21–25 (27.4%) (p = 0.003) age group. Participants in the study were not aware of the potential adverse effects of AAS use. Adverse effects experienced by 77% of AAS users include psychiatric problems (47%), acne (32.7%), hair loss (14.2%), and sexual dysfunction (10.7%). Moreover, it appears that trainers and friends are major sources (75.20%) for obtaining AAS. Conclusion: AAS abuse is a real problem among gym members, along with a lack of knowledge regarding its adverse effects. Health education and awareness programs are needed not only for trainees, but also for trainers and gym owners as they are reportedly some of the primary sources of AAS.
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spelling pubmed-83066332021-07-25 Anabolic–Androgenic Steroid Abuse among Gym Users, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia Albaker, Walied Alkhars, Ali Elamin, Yasir Jatoi, Noor Boumarah, Dhuha Al-Hariri, Mohammed Medicina (Kaunas) Article Background and Objectives: The main aim of the present study was to assess the use of androgenic–anabolic steroids (AAS) and to investigate its potentially unfavorable effects among gym members attending gym fitness facilities in Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was carried out during the summer of 2017. Male gym users in the Eastern Province region of Saudi Arabia were the respondents. Information on socio-demographics, use of AAS, knowledge, and awareness about its side effects were collected using a self-administered questionnaire. Results: The prevalence of AAS consumption among trainees in Eastern Province was 21.3%. The percentage was highest among those 26–30 years of age (31.9%), followed by the 21–25 (27.4%) (p = 0.003) age group. Participants in the study were not aware of the potential adverse effects of AAS use. Adverse effects experienced by 77% of AAS users include psychiatric problems (47%), acne (32.7%), hair loss (14.2%), and sexual dysfunction (10.7%). Moreover, it appears that trainers and friends are major sources (75.20%) for obtaining AAS. Conclusion: AAS abuse is a real problem among gym members, along with a lack of knowledge regarding its adverse effects. Health education and awareness programs are needed not only for trainees, but also for trainers and gym owners as they are reportedly some of the primary sources of AAS. MDPI 2021-07-10 /pmc/articles/PMC8306633/ /pubmed/34356984 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/medicina57070703 Text en © 2021 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Albaker, Walied
Alkhars, Ali
Elamin, Yasir
Jatoi, Noor
Boumarah, Dhuha
Al-Hariri, Mohammed
Anabolic–Androgenic Steroid Abuse among Gym Users, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia
title Anabolic–Androgenic Steroid Abuse among Gym Users, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia
title_full Anabolic–Androgenic Steroid Abuse among Gym Users, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia
title_fullStr Anabolic–Androgenic Steroid Abuse among Gym Users, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia
title_full_unstemmed Anabolic–Androgenic Steroid Abuse among Gym Users, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia
title_short Anabolic–Androgenic Steroid Abuse among Gym Users, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia
title_sort anabolic–androgenic steroid abuse among gym users, eastern province, saudi arabia
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8306633/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34356984
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/medicina57070703
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