Tendency to Consume Anabolic Steroids and Body-Building Supplements in the General Population: An Ecological Study

AuthorMohammadreza Rabieeen
AuthorMasoumeh Sadat Mousavien
OrcidMohammadreza Rabiee [0000-0001-9676-0079]en
OrcidMasoumeh Sadat Mousavi [0000-0002-8394-7325]en
Issued Date2023-10-31en
AbstractBackground: Anabolic steroids and bodybuilding supplements are products that are readily available in the market and are increasingly being used by young people and athletes. This trend has become a social issue worldwide. Objectives: The purpose of this study is to examine and determine the changes in the prevalence and trends of anabolic steroid usage in Iran. Methods: This ecological study utilized the Google Trends database as its primary source. Initially, we searched for specific keywords related to "anabolic steroids (AS)", "Body-building supplements (BBS)", and "COVID-19" among all searches conducted using GTs from January 2017 to December 2022. Subsequently, Spearman's correlation coefficient was employed to assess the association between the keywords "AS" and "BBS" with the term "COVID-19" during various years. Results: The preference for consuming protein (58.19 ± 15.24) was highest among BBS, while recovery (12.14 ± 17.09) was the lowest. In the case of AS, the highest search frequency was related to Testosterone (56.64 ± 9.57), while the lowest was related to Primobolan (13.72 ± 8.21). In early 2020, we observed a significant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the inclination to use BBS and AS, leading to a substantial decrease in willingness to use. However, we did not observe a statistically significant correlation between keyword searches for COVID-19 and AS & BBS. Conclusions: The trend of AS and BBS usage in Iran is on the rise. The indiscriminate use of supplements is a cause for concern and calls for educational interventions.en
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.5812/intjssh-141353en
KeywordSupplementsen
KeywordAnabolic Steroidsen
KeywordProtein Supplementen
KeywordTestosteroneen
KeywordCOVID-19en
KeywordGoogle Trendsen
PublisherBrieflandsen
TitleTendency to Consume Anabolic Steroids and Body-Building Supplements in the General Population: An Ecological Studyen
TypeResearch Articleen

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