Female teen steroid use not limited to athletes

Diane Elliot, M.D., professor of medicine (health promotion and sports medicine), OHSU School of Medicine, and colleagues analyzed findings from the Center for Disease Control’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey of 7,544 ninth- through 12th-grade girls from around the country. The questionnaire asked about sports participation, anabolic steroid and drug use, and other illegal or unhealthy behaviors. Approximately 5 percent of participants reported prior or ongoing anabolic steroid use.

In addition to greater substance use, young female steroid users were more likely to have had sexual intercourse before age 13; have been pregnant; drink and drive or have ridden with a drinking driver; carry a weapon; have been in a fight on school property; have feelings of sadness or hopelessness almost every day for at least two weeks; and have attempted suicide. Those reporting anabolic steroid use were less likely to participate in team athletics.

Overall, more than two-thirds of those surveyed reported trying to change their weight. Girls who used steroids were more likely try extreme weight-loss techniques, such as vomiting and laxative use.

Adolescent girls reporting anabolic steroid use had significantly more other health-harming behaviors, Elliot explained, “They were much more likely to use other unhealthy substances, including cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana and cocaine.”

“Across all grades, these seem to be troubled adolescents with co-occurring health-compromising activities in the domains of substance use, sexual behavior, violence and mental health,” Elliot said. “Anabolic steroid use is a marker for high-risk girls. High-risk young women have received less attention than young men, perhaps reflecting that their actions are less socially, albeit more personally, destructive. Further study is needed to develop effective interventions for these young women.”

Source: Oregon Health & Science University

New study: Pine bark significantly reduces menstrual pain
A new study reveals dysmenorrhea, a condition that causes extremely painful menstrual periods affecting millions of women each year, can be reduced naturally by taking Pycnogenol (pic-noj-en-all), pine bark extract from the French maritime pine tree. The multi-center field study, published in the Journal of Reproductive Medicine, shows women with dysmenorrhea who supplemented with Pycnogenol experienced less pain and required less pain medications during menstruation.
Deactivating a cancer growth promoter
Three enzymes called phosphatases that shut down a molecule called SRC-3 (steroid receptor coactivator 3) could provide a new pathway for fighting cancer, particularly tumors of the breast and prostate, said researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in a report that appears in the current issue of the journal Molecular Cell.
Cells that mediate steroid-resistant asthma identified by scientists at Children's Hospital
Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC researchers have identified cells that may play a key role in some forms of steroid-resistant asthma, a complication of the condition that makes treatment even more challenging.
Steroids not as effective in obese asthma patients
Researchers at National Jewish Health have shown that glucocorticoids, the primary controller medication for asthma, are 40 percent less effective in overweight and obese asthma patients than in those of normal weight. The findings identify a potential mechanism involved in the resistance, which suggests therapeutic targets for future medications. The study, by Associate Professor of Medicine E. Rand Sutherland, MD, MPH and his colleagues at National Jewish Health, appears in the October 1, 2008, issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
Gap junction protein vital to successful pregnancy, researchers find
Researchers studying a critical stage of pregnancy – implantation of the embryo in the uterus – have found a protein that is vital to the growth of new blood vessels that sustain the embryo. Without this protein, which is produced in higher quantities in the presence of estrogen, the embryo is unlikely to survive.
Researchers find a new role for a 'Foxy Old Gene'
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have discovered that a protein called FOXA2 controls genes that maintain the proper level of bile in the liver. FOXA2 may become the focus for new therapies to treat diseases that involve the regulation of bile salts. The study was published online this week in Nature Medicine.
Improved estrogen reception may sharpen fuzzy memory
Estrogen treatments may sharpen mental performance in women with certain medical conditions, but University of Florida researchers suggest that recharging a naturally occurring estrogen receptor in the brain may also clear cognitive cobwebs.
'Stuffy nose' mouse: A promise to help treat 31 million with sinusitis
Mice with inflamed nasal tissue being tested at a Johns Hopkins laboratory may be unable to tell if something smells bad or good, but their sensory deficit is nothing to turn up a nose at.

Female teen steroid use not limited to athletes

Related stories:

News discussion: