Cardiovascular Disease in Anabolic Androgenic Steroid Users

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Use of anabolic androgenic steroids (AASs) is associated with increased mortality, and case reports have suggested that some of these deaths are due to cardiovascular disease. However, the epidemiology of cardiovascular disease in AAS users is still relatively unexplored. This study aimed to measure the incidence of cardiovascular disease in male AAS users and to compare these rates with those of a cohort from the general population matched by age and sex. METHODS: Men sanctioned in an antidoping program for AAS use in Danish fitness centers between 2006 and 2018 were included and matched for age and sex with 50 times as many controls from the general Danish population. The cohort was followed until June 30, 2023. Using the nationwide registries, we obtained information on admissions, prescriptions, educational length, and occupational status for both the AAS users and controls. This study investigated the incidence of acute myocardial infarction, percutaneous coronary intervention, or coronary artery bypass graft, venous thromboembolism, ischemic stroke, arrhythmia, cardiomyopathy, heart failure, and cardiac arrest during the follow-up period. RESULTS: During an average of 11 years of follow-up, AAS users (n=1189) demonstrated a significantly higher incidence of several cardiovascular events compared with controls (n=59 450). Correspondingly, AASs were associated with an increased risk of acute myocardial infarction (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 3.00 [95% CI, 1.67–5.39]), percutaneous coronary intervention or coronary artery bypass graft (aHR 2.95 [95% CI, 1.68–5.18]), venous thromboembolism (aHR 2.42 [95% CI, 1.54–3.80]), arrhythmias (aHR 2.26 [95% CI, 1.53–3.32]), cardiomyopathy (aHR 8.90 [95% CI, 4.99–15.88]), and heart failure (aHR 3.63 [95% CI, 2.01–6.55]). Due to the limited number of ischemic stroke and cardiac arrest cases among AAS users, these outcomes were not reportable. CONCLUSIONS: AAS use is associated with a substantially increased risk of cardiovascular disease in a large cohort with a long follow-up period.