Anabolic-Androgenic Steroids and Cardiometabolic Derangements

The document is a case report on a 56-year-old male who had been using anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) for over three decades. Despite maintaining low body fat levels and high physical activity, the patient was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus, had hyperlipidemia, borderline elevated blood pressure, and moderately elevated high-sensitivity C-reactive protein levels. His echocardiogram showed mild left ventricular hypertrophy and mildly decreased right ventricular function, suggesting direct AAS induced biventricular effects. The report concluded that anabolic steroids carry many potential and somewhat unknown long-term risks, such as metabolic derangements and cardiac toxicity. It emphasized the need for greater physician knowledge to accurately screen these patients prior to serious complications and called for more research to provide better insight on addressing this patient population.