Teens experimenting with steroids earlier survey

NEW YORK, Mar 9 (Reuters) Adolescents are using muscle-building steroids at an earlier age, but most stop using these drugs as they grow older, according to more than 2,500 youth who were surveyed in 1999 and again in 2004.

According to Dr Patricia van den Berg, the survey showed that steroid use peaked at 5 per cent and at ''earlier ages than we expected (i.e., in middle school) and declined as children got older.'' ''This seems to point more toward experimental use rather than a pattern in which initiation leads to continued use, as seems to be the case with alcohol, for instance, Van den Berg, from University of Minnesota, Minneapolis and colleagues note in the journal Pediatrics.

Nonetheless, 1 to 3 out of every 100 adolescents surveyed still reported using steroids within the last year, ''which is concerning,'' van den Berg said.

Even though steroid use did not track very strongly over time or tend to persist, using steroids in 1999 greatly increased the chances of being a user 5 years later.

It's also ''interesting,'' van den Berg said, that boys who indicated in 1999 that they wanted a larger body, as well as those who said they used healthy weight-control behaviors, were more likely to use steroids in 2004.

Among girls, on the other hand, those who were heavier, less satisfied with their weight, and who had limited knowledge about healthy eating and exercise habits in 1999 were more likely to use steroids 5 years later.

Overall, 1.7 per cent of boys and 1.4 per cent of girls between 15 and 23 reported steroid use within the 5-year survey period.

Those who reported use early on were 4 to 10 times more likely to use later in life.

''It is important to know,'' noted van den Berg, ''that using steroids can have negative effects for the musculoskeletal system (bones), cardiovascular system (heart), endocrine/reproductive system (hormones), and other systems in adults.'' ''The effects are not as well-known in adolescents, and may be greater than in adults,'' she warned.

Reuters SY DB0944