Health
Anabolic steroids: health risks and what we know about use
Draft: this article is still being reviewed by a healthcare professional.
Short answer
Non-medical use of anabolic-androgenic steroids for muscle growth can cause serious harm to health. A muscular appearance, an absence of symptoms or a single blood result does not prove that use is safe.
What side effects can occur?
Possible consequences include high blood pressure, unfavourable cholesterol levels, heart problems, acne, hair loss and liver problems. Suppression of your own hormone production can lead to fertility problems, smaller testicles and sexual problems. In women, a deeper voice and increased body hair, among other things, can occur; some changes are permanent. Mood changes, dependence and depressive symptoms when stopping can also occur. Not everyone gets the same side effects. [1]
What does research say about the heart?
A 2025 Danish cohort study found higher risks of heart attack, heart rhythm disorders, cardiomyopathy and heart failure, among other things, in identified male users than in matched men from the general population. The study is observational: it does not give an exact personal prediction and cannot fully rule out confounding factors. [2]
Is use increasing?
For this article, no sufficiently comparable Dutch data series was found to firmly quantify a national increase. More visibility, patients or seizures are not the same as a representative measurement of use. That is why we give no growth percentage and do not write that use is 'rising explosively'.
If you use or want to stop
Discuss this with your GP. Do not put together a post-cycle therapy yourself. Medically prescribed hormone treatment is a different context from non-medical bodybuilding use; do not change prescribed medication based on this article.
