the hidden risks of performance enhancing drugs

those of us who take an interest in performance enhancing drugs, both in the general population and amongst elite athletes, recognize there are severe risks associated with their use. oftentimes, those risks involve the long-term physiological consequences of administration, such as liver and kidney failure, or unintended side-effects, such as hematocrit levels increasing beyond sustainable levels. these risks are real and pose serious threats for individuals that choose to use peds. however, a recent paper by hope et al. (2016) highlights the hidden risks of ped use - the risk of infection and blood-bourns pathogen transmission.

the researchers collected data from over 1200 males who use performance and image enhancing drugs over the years of 1992 - 2009, and excluded any individuals that also injected psychoactive drugs. interestingly, the mean injection time increased from 2 to 4 years. of note, 3.9% of participants tested positive for anti-hcv, 4.4% for anti-hbc, and less than 1% for anti-hiv. the prevalence of these pathogens increased between 2004 and 2009, but decreased slightly in the years since.

although the authors noted that the prevalence of these pathogens have significant cross-over with the population of men who have sex with men, these findings put the risk of infection on par with individuals who inject psychoactive drugs.

if we are to curtail the use of these drugs, and are truly concerned with the health implications associated with them, we must also begin to consider these infectious diseases associated with syringe use.

references

hope, vivian d., et al. "risk of hiv and hepatitis b and c over time among men who inject image and performance enhancing drugs in england and wales: results from cross-sectional prevalence surveys, 1992–2013." journal of acquired immune deficiency syndromes (1999) 71.3 (2016): 331.