ReviewMolecular and cellular endocrinology2018
Do anabolic-androgenic steroids have performance-enhancing effects in female athletes?
Review in Molecular and cellular endocrinology, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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
15 citing papers in PubMed, 67 citations in OpenAlex.
- Physiological Basis of Sex Differences in Human Performance and Exercise-Associated Pathology.Clinical endocrinology · 2026Review
- Review
- Sex differences in elite track and field performances and inferences about steroid doping.Experimental physiology · 2025Article
- A feminist analysis of women's performance and image-enhancing drug use: epistemic injustice and resources for rethinking enhancement harms.Harm reduction journal · 2025Article
- Impacts of Anabolic-androgenic steroid supplementation on female health and offspring: Mechanisms, side effects, and medical perspectives.Saudi pharmaceutical journal : SPJ : the official publication of the Saudi Pharmaceutical Society · 2024Review
- Abuse of Anabolic-Androgenic Steroids as a Social Phenomenon and Medical Problem-Its Potential Negative Impact on Reproductive Health Based on 50 Years of Case Report Analysis.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
- Sexual dimorphisms in skeletal muscle: current concepts and research horizons.Journal of applied physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985) · 2024Review
- A Scoping Review of Transgender Policies in the 15 Most Commonly Played UK Professional Sports.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Sex differences and athletic performance. Where do trans individuals fit into sports and athletics based on current research?Frontiers in sports and active living · 2023Review
- Article
- Prevalence of Prohibited Substance Use and Methods by Female Athletes: Evidence of Gender-Related Differences.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2022Article
- Controversies surrounding female athletes with differences in sexual development.The Journal of clinical investigation · 2020Article
- Why are there no platypuses at the Olympics?: A teleological case for athletes with disorders of sexual development to compete within their sex category.South African journal of sports medicine · 2020Article
- Enhanced Skeletal Muscle Oxidative Capacity and Capillary-to-Fiber Ratio Following Moderately Increased Testosterone Exposure in Young Healthy Women.Frontiers in physiology · 2020Article
- Diagnosis and Management of Anabolic Androgenic Steroid Use.The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism · 2019Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Doping with anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) is common among both male and female athletes and is a growing public health problem. Review of historical data of systematic state-sponsored doping programs implemented by the German Democratic Republic in elite female athletes and from clinical trials of testosterone administration in non-athlete women suggests that AAS have ergogenic effects in women. The use of AAS in female athletes has been associated with adverse effects that include acne, hirsutism, deepening of the voice and menstrual disturbances; life-threatening adverse effects such as cardiac arrhythmias and sudden death have also been reported. Therefore, detection of AAS abuse in female athletes is important to ensure fairness in competition; at the same time, the athletes should be educated regarding the adverse consequences of AAS use. Although administration of exogenous androgens have been associated with ergogenic effects, it remains unclear whether endogenous hyperandrogenism seen in some medical conditions such as disorders of sexual development (DSD), congenital adrenal hyperplasia and polycystic ovary syndrome, confers any competitive advantage. Well-designed studies are needed to determine the effects of endogenous hyperandrogenism on athletic performance in female athletes.
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What OpenQuestion holds
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.