Ida Gregersen, Morgan Elizabeth Scarth, Rang Abdullah, Per Medbøe Thorsby, Lisa E Hauger, Kristina H Haugaa, Ellen Lund Sagen, Annika E Michelsen, Thor Ueland, Thor Edvardsen, Pål Aukrust, Vibeke Marie Almaas, Astrid Kristine Bjørnebekk, Bente Halvorsen
AIM: In the current paper, we aim to explore the effect of both current and former long-term anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) use on regulation of systemic inflammatory markers and mediators of extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling and their association with hormones and echocardiographic myocardial pathology in weightlifters. METHODS: In a cross-sectional study, 93 weightlifting AAS-users, of which 62 were current and 31 were past users, with at least one-year cumulative AAS-use (mean 11±7 accumulated years of AAS-use), were compared to 54 non-using weightlifting controls (WLC) using clinical interview, blood pressure measurements, and echocardiography...
April 4, 2024: European Journal of Preventive Cardiology