ArticleBMC public health2019
Support for people who use Anabolic Androgenic Steroids: A Systematic Scoping Review into what they want and what they access.
Article in BMC public health, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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
18 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 76 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prevalence of anabolic steroid users seeking support from physicians: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ open · 2022Pooled it
- Harm reduction measures in a recreational gym user with anabolic androgenic steroid dependence: a case report in the context of current best clinical practice.Harm reduction journal · 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
- Evaluation of implementing drug checking services for anabolic androgenic steroids in Switzerland: a pilot study.Harm reduction journal · 2025Article
- Community pharmacy's role in dispensing androgens and supporting harm reduction amid current policy dilemmas.Substance abuse treatment, prevention, and policy · 2025Article
- Harm reduction techniques among cisgender gay, bisexual, and queer men using anabolic androgenic steroids: a qualitative study.Harm reduction journal · 2024Article
- Peer advice for women living with HIV in the Southern USA.Culture, health & sexuality · 2024Article
- Exploring Anabolic Androgenic Steroid Use Among Cisgender Gay, Bisexual, and Queer Men.JAMA network open · 2024Article
- Exploring the role of community pharmacies as a harm reduction environment for anabolic-androgenic steroid consumers: triangulating the perspectives of consumers and pharmacists.Harm reduction journal · 2024Article
- Physical, psychological and biochemical recovery from anabolic steroid-induced hypogonadism: a scoping review.Endocrine connections · 2023Article
- Health service engagement, side effects and concerns among men with anabolic-androgenic steroid use: a cross-sectional Norwegian study.Substance abuse treatment, prevention, and policy · 2023Article
- Misadventures in Toxicology: Concentration Matters for Testosterone-Induced Neurotoxicity.Toxics · 2023Article
- No association between psychiatric symptoms and doses of anabolic steroids in a cohort of male and female bodybuilders.Drug testing and analysis · 2022Article
- Generating evidence on the use of Image and performance enhancing drugs in the UK: results from a scoping review and expert consultation by the Anabolic Steroid UK network.Harm reduction journal · 2021Article
- Harm Reduction in Male Patients Actively Using Anabolic Androgenic Steroids (AAS) and Performance-Enhancing Drugs (PEDs): a Review.Journal of general internal medicine · 2021Review
- Liver injury associated with the use of selective androgen receptor modulators and post-cycle therapy: Two case reports and literature review.World journal of clinical cases · 2021Article
- A focused netnographic study exploring experiences associated with counterfeit and contaminated anabolic-androgenic steroids.Harm reduction journal · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSince there is a paucity of research on support for people using Anabolic Androgenic Steroids (AAS), we aimed to identify and synthesise the available evidence in this field. Gaining an understanding of the support both accessed and wanted by recreational AAS users will be of use to professionals who provide services to intravenous substance users and also to those working in the fields of public health and social care, with the aim to increase engagement of those using AAS.
methodsA systematic scoping review of the literature to explore and identify the nature and scope of information and support both accessed and wanted by non-prescribed AAS users. Any support services or information designed to help people who use AAS were considered.
resultsWe identified 23 papers and one report for review, which indicated that AAS users access a range of sources of information on: how to inject, substance effectiveness, dosages and side effects, suggesting this is the type of information users want. AAS users sought support from a range of sources including medical professionals, needle and syringe programmes, friends, dealers, and via the internet, suggesting that, different sources were used dependent on the information or support sought. DISCUSSION: AAS users tended to prefer peer advice and support over that of professionals, and access information online via specialist forums, reflecting the stigma that is experienced by AAS users. These tendencies can act as barriers to accessing services provided by professionals.
conclusionsSupport needs to be specific and targeted towards AAS users. Sensitivity to their perceptions of their drug-use and the associated stigma of being classified in the same sub-set as other illicit drug users is relevant to facilitating successful engagement.
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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.