Many people trying to gain muscle or lose fat use "dietary supplements." Though widely available over the counter or by mail order in America and Europe, some of these "supplements" are actually potent drugs such as androstenedione and ephedrine. A research team headed by Harrison Pope, M.D. of McLean Hospital, a Harvard Medical School affiliate in Belmont, Mass., sought to estimate the prevalence of these forms of drug use in American gymnasiums.
Anonymous questionnaires were distributed to 511 clients entering five gymnasiums, asking about use of both supplements and anabolic steroids.
Among men, 18% reported use of androstenedione and/or other adrenal hormones, 25% reported ephedrine use and 5% reported anabolic steroid use within the last 3 years;
Among women, these rates were 3, 13 and 0%.
Extrapolating from these figures to the United States as a whole, the authors estimate that possibly 1.5 million American gymnasium clients have used adrenal hormones and 2.8 million have used ephedrine within the last 3 years.
Millions of men and women are currently using potent drugs, widely sold over the counter as "supplements," despite their known adverse effects, unknown long-term risks, and possible potential for causing abuse or dependence.
McLean Hospital maintains the largest program of research in neuroscience and psychiatry of any private psychiatric hospital in the United States. A large program of clinical trials for new psychopharmacological agents allows patients access to many experimental medications before they are generally available.
(Reference: Over-the-Counter Drug Use in Gymnasiums: An Underrecognized Substance Abuse Problem? Gen Kanayama, Amanda J. Gruber, Harrison G. Pope, Jr., John J. Borowiecki, James I. Hudson. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics 2001;70:137-140.)
Related websites:
McLean Hospital
Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics
[Contact: Dr. H. G. Pope Jr., Giovanni A. Fava M.D.]
18-May-2001
