SynthesisSubstance abuse treatment, prevention, and policy2015
Polypharmacy among anabolic-androgenic steroid users: a descriptive metasynthesis.
Synthesis in Substance abuse treatment, prevention, and policy, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 57 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
57 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Anabolic-androgenic steroid administration increases self-reported aggression in healthy males: a systematic review and meta-analysis of experimental studies.Psychopharmacology · 2021Pooled it
- Experimental peptides, GLP-1s and polypharmacy: Future directions for image- and performance-enhancing drug harm reduction.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2026Article
- Non-medical use of exogenous testosterone and anabolic-androgenic substances in young men: health, psychological, and fertility consequences.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2026Review
- Anabolic Androgenic Steroids: Emerging Use Disorder, Mechanisms of Action, and Clinical Considerations for Pharmacotherapy.Focus (American Psychiatric Publishing) · 2026Article
- Prevalence of AAS-Positive Samples at Drug Abuse Laboratory Sweden Between 2014 and 2023 and Sub-Study of Dual Use of AAS and Narcotics.Drug testing and analysis · 2025Article
- Creating Safer Injecting Practices Through Community-Led Harm Reduction: Lessons From People Who Use Steroids for the Alcohol and Other Drug Sector.Drug and alcohol review · 2025Article
- Best Practice Guidance for Male Individuals Using Anabolic Androgenic Steroids in Recreational Sports Within Primary Care: Protocol for a Modified Delphi Consensus Study.JMIR research protocols · 2025Article
- Managing risks and harms associated with the use of anabolic steroids: a qualitative study.Harm reduction journal · 2025Article
- Predicting Anabolic Androgenic Steroid Doping among Specialized Health Care Patients with Elastic Net Regression Reveals Potential Laboratory Variables for "Patient Biological Passport".Sports medicine - open · 2025Article
- Illegal and falsified medicines self-administrated in not approved post-cycle therapy after the cessation of anabolic-androgenic steroids - qualitative analysis.Frontiers in chemistry · 2025Article
- Review
- A study of long-term supraphysiologic-dose anabolic-androgenic steroid use on cognitive function in middle-aged men.The American journal of drug and alcohol abuse · 2024Article
- Prediction model for anabolic androgenic steroid positivity in forensic autopsy cases - a new tool to the autopsy room.International journal of legal medicine · 2024Article
- Article
- Supraphysiological testosterone levels from anabolic steroid use and reduced sensitivity to negative facial expressions in men.Psychopharmacology · 2024Article
- Bodybuilding: A Comprehensive Review of Performance-Enhancing Substance Use and Public Health Implications.Cureus · 2023Review
- Clustering psychopathology in male anabolic-androgenic steroid users and nonusing weightlifters.Brain and behavior · 2023Article
- Investigating anabolic-androgenic steroid dependence and muscle dysmorphia with network analysis among male weightlifters.BMC psychiatry · 2023Article
- Misadventures in Toxicology: Concentration Matters for Testosterone-Induced Neurotoxicity.Toxics · 2023Article
- Psychiatric morbidity among men using anabolic steroids.Depression and anxiety · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAs far as we are aware, no previous systematic review and synthesis of the qualitative/descriptive literature on polypharmacy in anabolic-androgenic steroid(s) (AAS) users has been published.
methodWe systematically reviewed and synthesized qualitative/descriptive literature gathered from searches in electronic databases and by inspecting reference lists of relevant literature to investigate AAS users' polypharmacy. We adhered to the recommendations of the UK Economic and Social Research Council's qualitative research synthesis manual and the PRISMA guidelines.
resultsA total of 50 studies published between 1985 and 2014 were included in the analysis. Studies originated from 10 countries although most originated from United States (n=22), followed by Sweden (n=7), England only (n=5), and the United Kingdom (n=4). It was evident that prior to their debut, AAS users often used other licit and illicit substances. The main ancillary/supplementary substances used were alcohol, and cannabis/cannabinoids followed by cocaine, growth hormone, and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), amphetamine/meth, clenbuterol, ephedra/ephedrine, insulin, and thyroxine. Other popular substance classes were analgesics/opioids, dietary/nutritional supplements, and diuretics. Our classification of the various substances used by AAS users resulted in 13 main groups. These non-AAS substances were used mainly to enhance the effects of AAS, combat the side effects of AAS, and for recreational or relaxation purposes, as well as sexual enhancement.
conclusionsOur findings corroborate previous suggestions of associations between AAS use and the use of other licit and illicit substances. Efforts must be intensified to combat the debilitating effects of AAS-associated polypharmacy.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.