Annotated Bibliography: SAB 334 Ethics in Sports

[Name of the Institute]

Annotated Bibliography: SAB 334 Ethics in Sports

Pope, H, Katz, D. (1994), “Psychiatric and Medical Effects of Anabolic-Androgenic Steroid Use”, Arch Gen Psychiatry; 51(5): pp. 375-382.

Pope and Katz discussed the effects of anabolic steroids on body composition and performance in their article. According to them steroids can increase fat free mass and decrease body fat; these effects are increased by the exercise of force and are evident in clinically relevant doses. Therefore, it may be beneficial to use steroids to those who participate in sports that require a high degree of strength and skeletal muscle mass and / or a low percentage of body fat. The bodybuilders, men and women often use these substances because of its clear effect on body mass.

Research on the effects on the performance increase of anabolic steroids began in the late 1960s and continued until the early 1980s. About half of the first studies demonstrated a positive effect of steroids on the force when the use of the substance was combined with strength training, whereas other studies did not. Most early work, regardless of whether the findings were positive or negative, were not well controlled. So overall, these studies did not provide definitive evidence to support or refute the alleged effects of anabolic steroids to enhance performance.

By the early 1990s, several researchers began experimenting with anabolic steroids in an effort to increase muscle mass in patients with HIV. Although several issues remain unresolved regarding the use of anabolic androgenic steroids for sports or cosmetic improvements. A second point that has not been tested in controlled studies is the belief that several different anabolic steroids used simultaneously produce an anabolic response significantly greater than any substance on its own. Finally, it is speculated that some of the gains in mass and strength to remain indefinitely using steroids after stopping the use of treatment with the substance. However, this has not been well studied.

References

Pope, H, Katz, D. (1994), “Psychiatric and Medical Effects of Anabolic-Androgenic Steroid Use”, Arch Gen Psychiatry; 51(5): pp. 375-382.

Appendix

Psychiatric and Medical Effects of Anabolic-Androgenic Steroid Use

Introduction

An extensive literature has documented the physiological [1-31 and psychological [4-7] effects ofanabolicandrogenic steroids (AAS) in men, but little has been written about the effects of these drugs in women. However, substantial numbers of women in the US abuse AAS. For example, data from the 1993 National Household survey [8] suggest that 145,000 American women have abused AAS at some time in their lives (95% confidence interval 64,000-830,000). Studies of high school populations have produced much higher estimates, with 0.5-3.2% of high school girls reporting that they had used AAS at least once [9-15]. These findings imply that AAS use among women, once restricted only to a small number of elite athletes [16-18], may now be evolving into a commoner public health problem in the US.

To assess the physiological and psychological correlates of AAS use in women, we performed a study comparing dedicated women athletes who reported use of AAS with those who had not. This investigation represents, to our knowledge, the first large controlled comparison between a group of steroid-using women athletes and a group of women athletes who have not used these ...