Impact of Health Authority Control Measures Aimed at Reducing the Illicit Use of Anabolic-Androgenic Steroids.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate two interventions on anabolic-androgenic-steroids (AAS) dispensation in retail pharmacies.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study was conducted in a north-western region of Spain. Data were the AAS supplied by wholesale drug distributors to retail pharmacies over a period of 102 months. It is designed as an ecological time-series study; the dependent variables were daily defined doses per 1,000 inhabitants per day of each drug. The two interventions evaluated were: (1) an inspection program intended for those retail pharmacies where there was an irregular dispensation and (2) a regulation put forth forcing these pharmacies to carry out additional registers. The medications studied were stanozolol, nandrolone, methenolone, testosterone and mesterolone.

RESULTS: The pre-intervention use of AAS displayed a rising trend. There was an immediate reduction of 30.56% after the first intervention, and a further reduction of 35.25% after the second. There was a seasonal pattern of use in the pre-intervention period, pointing to an increased demand at the end of spring and beginning of summer. The most abused drugs were stanozolol and nandrolone.

CONCLUSION: The health actions were very effective, in that they brought about a sharp reduction in the illicit use of AAS. These interventions could be applied to other drugs in which abuse were detected.