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WASHINGTON: Using anabolic steroids is linked to antisocial behaviour such as illegal weapon possession and fraud, according a Swedish study published on Monday that provided a fresh warning about the dangers of the muscle-building drugs.
But the researchers said they were somewhat surprised to find that steroid users were no more likely than nonusers to commit violent crimes such as murder and assault. Sexual offenses such as rape and property crimes also were not linked to steroid use, they found.
The researchers examined the relationship between steroids already associated with increased aggressiveness and impulsive violent outbursts sometimes dubbed "roid rage" and criminal behaviour. They looked at people using steroids without a doctor's prescription.
"Our findings indicate that the use of (anabolic steroids) is associated not only with impulsive antisocial behaviour but also with an antisocial lifestyle involving various types of criminality," some requiring advance planning, the researchers led by Fia Klotz of Uppsala University in Sweden wrote.
The study appears in the journal Archives of General Psychiatry. Among 241 Swedes who came up positive for steroid use out of a sample of 1,440 tested for the drugs from 1995 and 2001, the study found a strong connection to some criminal acts but not others.
The steroid users were roughly twice as likely to have been found guilty of a weapons crime and 1-1/2 times as likely to have been found guilty of fraud.
But the researchers said they were somewhat surprised to find that steroid users were no more likely than nonusers to commit violent crimes such as murder and assault. Sexual offenses such as rape and property crimes also were not linked to steroid use, they found.
The researchers examined the relationship between steroids already associated with increased aggressiveness and impulsive violent outbursts sometimes dubbed "roid rage" and criminal behaviour. They looked at people using steroids without a doctor's prescription.
"Our findings indicate that the use of (anabolic steroids) is associated not only with impulsive antisocial behaviour but also with an antisocial lifestyle involving various types of criminality," some requiring advance planning, the researchers led by Fia Klotz of Uppsala University in Sweden wrote.
The study appears in the journal Archives of General Psychiatry. Among 241 Swedes who came up positive for steroid use out of a sample of 1,440 tested for the drugs from 1995 and 2001, the study found a strong connection to some criminal acts but not others.
The steroid users were roughly twice as likely to have been found guilty of a weapons crime and 1-1/2 times as likely to have been found guilty of fraud.
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