SynthesisEchocardiography (Mount Kisco, N.Y.)2026
Duration-Dependent Cardiac Effects of Anabolic-Androgenic Steroid Use in Strength-Trained Athletes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Synthesis in Echocardiography (Mount Kisco, N.Y.), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper, 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
1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Duration-Dependent Cardiac Effects of Anabolic-Androgenic Steroid Use in Strength-Trained Athletes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Echocardiography (Mount Kisco, N.Y.) · 2026Pooled it
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
14 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeNonmedical anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) use is increasing, and its duration-dependent cardiac effects remain unclear. We evaluated cardiac structure and function in AAS-using strength-trained athletes, overall and by exposure duration.
methodsWe searched PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Central, and SCOPUS through November 2025 for observational studies comparing AAS-using and nonusing strength-trained athletes of either sex. Random-effects models pooled mean differences (MD) overall and across four exposure strata (<6 months, 6 months-3 years, 3-6 years, >6 years); meta-regression assessed duration as a continuous moderator.
resultsForty studies (1906 athletes; 95% male) were included. Overall, AAS users showed reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF; 29 studies; MD -2.84%; 95% CI -4.24 to -1.44; p < 0.01), impaired global longitudinal strain (GLS; MD +3.27%; p < 0.01), and increased left ventricular mass index (LVMI; MD +18.21 g/m
conclusionAAS use is associated with cardiac structural and functional abnormalities, with exposure duration associated with selected, but not all, outcomes. These cross-sectional comparisons do not establish within-person progression; longitudinal surveillance with deformation imaging is warranted.
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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.