The Prevalence of Anabolic-Androgenic Steroid Misuse in Iranian Athletes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis



Selkghaffari M¹ ; Shabbidar S² ; Halabchi F³
Source: Iranian Journal of Public Health Published:2021

Abstract

Background: Due to widespread abuse of anabolic-androgenic steroids among professional athletes and ama-teur sportsmen and their health-related problems, determining the prevalence and the pattern of anabolic-androgenic steroid misuse at the national level seems to be vital for designing efficient preventive and educa-tional measures. Methods: This systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted via comprehensive searches of the electronic databases including PubMed, MedLine, Scopus, Google Scholar and National Persian Databases including SID, Magiran, IranDoc (between 1980 and Dec 2019 in English and Persian languages) and also from cita-tions in the selected papers. Overall, 39 articles met the criteria and were included in qualitative and quantitative synthesis. Results: The overall prevalence rate of anabolic-androgenic steroid misuse in the Iranian athletic population was 36.2% (95% confidence interval (CI), 29-43) with significant heterogeneity between studies (I2=99.0%, P<0.001). Prevalence rate of anabolic-androgenic steroid misuse among elite, male and younger athletes was higher (P<0.05). Moreover, prevalence rate of anabolic-androgenic steroid misuse among body-building athletes (36.3%) was higher compared to other athletes (30.9%), (P<0.001). Conclusion: Due to the higher prevalence of anabolic-androgenic steroids misuse in Iran compared to global statistics and the potential for serious adverse effects, preventive strategies and policies should be regarded as a real concern for public health. © 2021 Selk-Ghaffari et al.