Managing risks and harms associated with the use of anabolic steroids: a qualitative study.

IF 4 2区社会学 Q1 SUBSTANCE ABUSE

Harm Reduction Journal Pub Date : 2025-07-28 DOI:10.1186/s12954-025-01269-x

J M X Amaral, A Kimergård, P Deluca

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background: People using anabolic steroids adopt different strategies to manage risks and harms associated with the use of these substances. We investigated how users learn, develop and incorporate risk-management strategies, as well as the events triggering changes in their health-related behaviour.

Methods: Twenty semi-structured interviews were conducted with anabolic steroid users living in the UK to discuss their risk-management strategies (19 males, 1 female; median age = 35.5 years; median time of anabolic steroid use = 9 years). Online interviews were transcribed verbatim and qualitative data was analysed via iterative categorisation.

Results: The use of risk-management strategies was characterised as a continuous cycle of identification, prevention and control of risks and harms. Preventative strategies were more commonly adopted after many years of anabolic steroid use. Changes in life circumstances and adverse health conditions were described as common triggers for changes in behaviour, including the cessation of anabolic steroid use.

Conclusion: Our findings can inform interventions aimed at increasing awareness and promoting healthier behaviours among people who use anabolic steroids. Further research is needed to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of the risk-management strategies employed by this population.

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管理与使用合成代谢类固醇相关的风险和危害：一项定性研究。

背景：使用合成代谢类固醇的人采用不同的策略来管理与使用这些物质相关的风险和危害。我们调查了用户如何学习、制定和纳入风险管理策略，以及引发他们健康相关行为变化的事件。方法：对生活在英国的合成代谢类固醇使用者进行了20次半结构化访谈，讨论他们的风险管理策略(19名男性，1名女性；中位年龄= 35.5岁；合成代谢类固醇使用的中位时间= 9年)。在线访谈逐字记录，定性数据通过迭代分类进行分析。结果：使用风险管理策略的特点是识别、预防和控制风险和危害的连续循环。预防策略在使用合成代谢类固醇多年后更为普遍。生活环境的变化和不利的健康状况被描述为行为改变的常见诱因，包括停止使用合成代谢类固醇。结论：我们的研究结果可以为旨在提高合成代谢类固醇使用者的意识和促进健康行为的干预措施提供信息。需要进一步的研究来评估这一人群所采用的风险管理策略的有效性和安全性。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Harm Reduction Journal Medicine-Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

CiteScore

5.90

自引率

9.10%

发文量

126

审稿时长

26 weeks

期刊介绍： Harm Reduction Journal is an Open Access, peer-reviewed, online journal whose focus is on the prevalent patterns of psychoactive drug use, the public policies meant to control them, and the search for effective methods of reducing the adverse medical, public health, and social consequences associated with both drugs and drug policies. We define "harm reduction" as "policies and programs which aim to reduce the health, social, and economic costs of legal and illegal psychoactive drug use without necessarily reducing drug consumption". We are especially interested in studies of the evolving patterns of drug use around the world, their implications for the spread of HIV/AIDS and other blood-borne pathogens.