Prevalence and risk factors for anabolic-androgenic steroid abuse among Jordanian collegiate students and athletes.

Background: The study was conducted to measure the extent of androgenic steroids abuse among two targeted groups in Jordan, college students and athletes, and the risk factors associated with this abuse.

Methods: Five hundred and three Jordanian collegiate students and 154 bodybuilding athletes completed a three section questionnaire that investigated demographic information, prevalence of anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) and attitude towards steroids abuse.

Results: Of the investigated collegiate students, 4.2% were current users, while the percentage rose to 26% among the athletes; the mean age of users in the two groups was 19.9 and 28.1 years, respectively. Almost one-third of the students started abusing AAS before the age of 15 years while more than half of the athletes started between the ages of 15 and 18 years. Knowing where and how to get the drugs has not been a problem for either the students or the athletes as their friends and coaches were the major sources. The main reasons for using AAS have been found to help improving athletic performance and physical appearances.

Conclusion: Abusing AAS is starting to become a public health concern that implies the need to implement educational programmes, which will educate and warn adolescents and mentors about the negative side effects of AAS abuse on the health of users.