title: History and epidemiology of anabolic androgens in athletes and non-athletes.
abstract: The use of androgens, frequently referred to as anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS), has grown into a worldwide substance abuse problem over the last several decades. Testosterone was isolated in the 1930s, and numerous synthetic androgens were quickly developed thereafter. Athletes soon discovered the dramatic anabolic effects of these hormones, and AAS spread rapidly through elite athletics and bodybuilding from the 1950s through the 1970s. However it was not until the 1980s that widespread AAS use emerged from the elite athletic world and into the general population. Today, the great majority of AAS users are not competitive athletes, but instead are typically young to middle-aged men who use these drugs primarily for personal appearance. AAS abuse has now become particularly prevalent in regions such as Scandinavia, the United States, Brazil, and British Commonwealth countries, but remains rare in countries such as China, Korea, and Japan - a pattern that reflects cultural differences in attitudes towards male muscularity.
authors.affiliation: From the Biological Psychiatry Laboratory, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Gen
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kanayama
authors.affiliation: From the Biological Psychiatry Laboratory, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. Electronic address: hpope@mclean.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Harrison G
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Pope
mesh_terms: D045930:Anabolic Agents / Q000266:history*; D000728:Androgens / Q000266:history*; D056352:Athletes; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D045930:Anabolic Agents; D000728:Androgens
keywords: Anabolic-androgenic steroids; Androgens; Epidemiology; History; Men; Testosterone