Misuses of anabolic androgenic steroid and its associated psychological distress in Pakistani bodybuilders

Basharat Hussain; Muhammad Tahir Khalily; Sabir Zaman; Amna Imtiaz; Sumaya Batool; Muhammad Yasir Khalily

2025, Vol: 50, Issue: 4

50 / 4Current Issue Online First Archive Aims and Scope Abstracting & Indexing Most Accessed Articles Most Downloaded Articles Most Cited Articles

Required files to be uploaded

Author_Certificate
Bank Reciept

« Previous Article

Original Research

RMJ. 2025; 50(2): 462-465

Misuses of anabolic androgenic steroid and its associated psychological distress in Pakistani bodybuilders

Basharat Hussain, Muhammad Tahir Khalily, Sabir Zaman, Amna Imtiaz, Sumaya Batool, Muhammad Yasir Khalily.

Abstract
Objective: To explore the association between irrational use of anabolic androgenic steroid (AAS) and its psychological consequences particularly focusing on the method of administration.
Methodology: In this cross-sectional study, 120 athletes participated, selected through purposive sampling technique. Of these, 67 were using injectable forms of AAS, while 53 were using tablets. The data were collected through self-administered questionnaires. Psychiatric symptoms were assessed using an Urdu translated version of symptoms checklist, while Intensity of anger was measured using the Novaca Anger Inventory. Suicide tendencies were assessed using Beck Suicide Scale.
Results: We found that 52.5% bodybuilders preferred testosterone as their AAS of choice, surpassing the usage of other steroids. A substantial portion of athletes (47.5%) acquired these substances based on recommendations from their friends and peers. Athletes utilizing AAS in tablet form had significantly higher scores on the Beck Suicidal Inventory compared to those using injectable forms.
Conclusion: Bodybuilders consuming steroids in tablet form demonstrated significantly higher scores across various psychopathological dimensions such as Somatization, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and interpersonal problems, Depression, Anxiety, Phobia, Paranoid, Psychoticism and General Severity Index. These findings suggest a potential association between the method of ASS administration and diverse psychopathological outcomes among the participants.

Key words: Anabolic androgenic, psychological distress, bodybuilder.

	ARTICLE TOOLS
	Abstract
	PDF Fulltext
	How to cite this article
	Citation Tools
	Related Records
	Articles by Basharat Hussain Articles by Muhammad Tahir Khalily Articles by Sabir Zaman Articles by Amna Imtiaz Articles by Sumaya Batool Articles by Muhammad Yasir Khalily
	on Google
	on Google Scholar

How to Cite this Article

Pubmed Style

Hussain B, Khalily MT, Zaman S, Imtiaz A, Batool S, Khalily MY. Misuses of anabolic androgenic steroid and its associated psychological distress in Pakistani bodybuilders. RMJ. 2025; 50(2): 462-465.

Web Style

Hussain B, Khalily MT, Zaman S, Imtiaz A, Batool S, Khalily MY. Misuses of anabolic androgenic steroid and its associated psychological distress in Pakistani bodybuilders. https://www.rmj.org.pk/?mno=192423 [Access: October 30, 2025].

AMA (American Medical Association) Style

Hussain B, Khalily MT, Zaman S, Imtiaz A, Batool S, Khalily MY. Misuses of anabolic androgenic steroid and its associated psychological distress in Pakistani bodybuilders. RMJ. 2025; 50(2): 462-465.

Vancouver/ICMJE Style

Hussain B, Khalily MT, Zaman S, Imtiaz A, Batool S, Khalily MY. Misuses of anabolic androgenic steroid and its associated psychological distress in Pakistani bodybuilders. RMJ. (2025), [cited October 30, 2025]; 50(2): 462-465.

Harvard Style

Hussain, B., Khalily, . M. T., Zaman, . S., Imtiaz, . A., Batool, . S. & Khalily, . M. Y. (2025) Misuses of anabolic androgenic steroid and its associated psychological distress in Pakistani bodybuilders. RMJ, 50 (2), 462-465.

Turabian Style

Hussain, Basharat, Muhammad Tahir Khalily, Sabir Zaman, Amna Imtiaz, Sumaya Batool, and Muhammad Yasir Khalily. 2025. Misuses of anabolic androgenic steroid and its associated psychological distress in Pakistani bodybuilders. Rawal Medical Journal, 50 (2), 462-465.

Chicago Style

Hussain, Basharat, Muhammad Tahir Khalily, Sabir Zaman, Amna Imtiaz, Sumaya Batool, and Muhammad Yasir Khalily. "Misuses of anabolic androgenic steroid and its associated psychological distress in Pakistani bodybuilders." Rawal Medical Journal 50 (2025), 462-465.

MLA (The Modern Language Association) Style

APA (American Psychological Association) Style

Author Login Reviewer Login Editorial Policies Conflict of Interest Policy Plagiarism Policy Advertising Policy

About Rawal Medical Journal

Contact Information

How to cite this article


About Rawal Medical Journal Publication, subscription and Editorial office PMA House G/220-B Liaquat Road, Rawalpindi. Phone: 051-555-9812, Fax: 051-553-7088 Email: drnkhokhar@ya ... Read more. For best results, please use Internet Explorer or Google Chrome.	Contact Information