Prevention & lipidsCohort study
Cardiovascular Disease in Anabolic Androgenic Steroid Users
- Nationwide registry-based matched cohort study
- matched by age and sex
- general population controls
Authors' conclusion
AAS use is associated with a substantially increased risk of cardiovascular disease in a large cohort with a long follow-up period.
Study context
- Population
- Male anabolic androgenic steroid users in Danish fitness centers
- Participants
- 1,189 vs 59,450
- Exposure
- AAS users vs matched general-population controls
- AAS usersn = 1,189
- Controlsn = 59,450reference
- Outcome
- Incidence of acute MI, PCI or CABG, VTE, ischemic stroke, arrhythmia, cardiomyopathy, HF and cardiac arrest
- Follow-up
- Average 11 years
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
CV events in AAS users vs matched controls · average of 11 years of follow-up
AASs vs ControlsAdjusted hazard ratio (95% CI)
acute MI
3.00(1.67–5.39)
PCI or CABG
2.95(1.68–5.18)
VTE
2.42(1.54–3.80)
arrhythmias
2.26(1.53–3.32)
cardiomyopathy
8.90(4.99–15.88)
HF
3.63(2.01–6.55)
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Original publication
Cardiovascular Disease in Anabolic Androgenic Steroid Users. Circulation. Published 13 February 2025. doi:10.1161/circulationaha.124.071117
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it