14 DAY TRIAL // Anabolic steroids are synthetic drugs that imitate the chemical formula and the action of the testosterone, male natural sexual hormone. Steroids affect growth, physical development and the functioning of sexual organs mimicking testosterone that occurs naturally in the human body.
They stimulate muscle growth and that's why many body builders and sportsmen use them in combination with high protein diets and intensive training to get increased muscle volume. These substances increase aggressiveness, competitiveness and training capacity. Steroids can be used in the treatment of anemia and to help patients that rested a long period of time in bed to recover muscle. They are also indicated for older men whose natural testosterone level has dropped.
But steroids can have nasty effects: the regular use can lead to liver failure and raised blood pressure. In men, the risks include: the reduction of sperm output and quality, even sterility, libido loss, erection problems, the shrinking of testicles, breasts growth and acne. Women can experiment the growth of body and facial hair, breasts shrinking, miscarriage and stillbirth, menstrual problems and the deepening of the voice. Steroid users can suffer by sleep disorders and paranoia (the drug is not addictive, but regular use can lead to a feeling of performing poorly when not taken).
Moreover, a recent study made at Uppsala University in Sweden linked steroid use to crimes involving weapons and fraud. Steroid users pass through manic episodes, depression, suicide, psychotic episodes and their increased aggression and hostility would occasionally lead to violent behavior, even murder. The aggressive drive can last up to 24 hours after consumption, and regular consumers turn physically violent and sexually abusive.
Swedish scientists tested 1,440 residents tested for the drugs between 1995 and 2001. 241 tested positive, with an average age of about 20. Those steroid-positive were 200 % more likely to have been convicted for armed attacks and 150 % for fraud. Eliminating the factor of steroid use in their analysis, the scientists found that the link with the fraud disappeared, but the connection with armed attacks remained.
Steroids did not seem to be linked with spontaneous crime (like sexual offenses, violent murder, assault and robbery, or theft) but instead with premeditated crimes, involving planning. The precise reasons of this behavior is not known, but the investigators believe that people involved in these crimes (like armed robbery or the debt collection of crime-related affairs) might lean more on their muscularity and high aggressiveness provided by steroids.