Comments

You must log in or register to comment.

chrisdh79 OP t1_ituxdlr wrote

From the article: Women who use anabolic steroids tend to exhibit heightened levels of psychopathology, such as depression and antisocial traits, according to new findings published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research.

“We were interested in this topic because very little is known about women who take anabolic steroids, and most studies tend to focus on the visible effects of these substances, rather than on the potential psychiatric effects or traits that make women prone to start using steroids,” explained study author Morgan Scarth, a PhD student at the Oslo University Hospital. “This is a result of stigma and perceived low prevalence of anabolic steroid use among females, and we wanted to know more about these women and their mental health.”

The study included 32 female weight-lifting athletes from Norway, who were recruited via social media, web forums, and flyers. Six participants indicated that they were currently using anabolic steroids, while 10 women were previous consumers. The researchers collected urine samples to confirm steroid use. The most commonly used steroids were Anavar (oxandrolone), clenbuterol, Winstrol (stanozolol) and Primobolan (metenolone).

The women completed the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III, a scientifically validated questionnaire designed to assess 14 personality disorders (such as narcissism) and 10 clinical syndromes (such as anxiety and bipolar disorder). The participants also provided information regarding their weight-lifting training and records along with health-related information and previous pharmacological treatment for medical or psychiatric conditions.

Compared to those who had never used anabolic steroids, women who had used or were currently using anabolic steroids showed elevated levels of anxiety, somatic symptom disorder, bipolar disorder, dysthymia, alcohol dependence, drug dependence, PTSD, thought disorder, major depression, and delusional disorder. Women who had used or were currently using steroids also scored significantly higher on measures of depressive, antisocial, sadistic, negativistic, masochistic/self-defeating, and borderline personality disorders.

5

NeenerNeenerHaaHaaa t1_itzhot6 wrote

This is not angled at OP.

>psychopathology, such as depression

Depression is not from what I find in definitions a part of psychopathology.

1

LorenzoStomp t1_itwmos5 wrote

So did none of these women have a mental health diagnosis before taking steroids? The guy quoted in the article just sort of shrugs about it.

5

StandardReflection12 t1_itxxp8y wrote

Previous studies have shown Psychopathy predicts wanting to take steroids in the first place.

2

[deleted] t1_itv43q9 wrote

[deleted]

3

-Kibbles-N-Tits- t1_itv8qab wrote

Steroids aren’t just synthetic testosterone at all

Some don’t even effect testosterone at all

1

AdultEnuretic t1_itw301w wrote

Anabolic steroids, which is what the article is about, ARE synthetic testosterone variants. Other steroids aren't relevant here.

−1

B_Rad_Gesus t1_itwe8x0 wrote

AAS aren't purely synthetic tesosterone variants. You have 3 common categories; Testosterone and its derivatives, Dihydrotestosterone and its derivatives, and 19-nortestosterone (nandrolone) and its derivatives. On top of that there are a few completely novel steroids that aren't from any of those groups but aren't widely used.

5

AutoModerator t1_ituxa5j wrote

Welcome to r/science! This is a heavily moderated subreddit in order to keep the discussion on science. However, we recognize that many people want to discuss how they feel the research relates to their own personal lives, so to give people a space to do that, personal anecdotes are now allowed as responses to this comment. Any anecdotal comments elsewhere in the discussion will continue to be removed and our normal comment rules still apply to other comments.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

1

HornyToad1984 t1_itx0czh wrote

Oh that's just standard dude stuff.

1

Pitiful-Let9270 t1_itxnu4b wrote

So all the ripped women on instagram are Just as anxious and depressed as you are, shoot your shot king or queen.

1

MTL_t3k t1_ityai5z wrote

Do women who (ab)use anabolic steroids tend to exhibit these traits any more so than men who likewise (ab)use these exogenous hormone treatments?

1

Ortus12 t1_itx3r3t wrote

In most cases, steroid users are literally people committing a criminal act for vanity purposes. Weather or not the steroids themselves play a causal role, the results of the study are not surprising.

0

Digipixel_ix t1_itwi83i wrote

Yes, men also?…This could easily be abbreviated to “humans who use anabolic,” but I understand the value in proving the obvious.

−3