Steroid use can create havoc in teen brains

Perhaps 10 percent of high school athletes are using steroids to become bigger, stronger and faster.

Often, however, that athletic prowess comes with increased depression, drug addiction and criminal behavior, said Dr. Robert Dimeff, medical director of sports medicine at the Cleveland Clinic.

“That’s what I worry about most — the psychological effects,” Dr. Dimeff said.

Concern about young athletes is being expressed because of a report released Thursday on steroid use in Major League Baseball. The investigator, George Mitchell, said steroid use by professional athletes is encouraging use among youths.

“Many young Americans are placing themselves at risk,” Mitchell said.

Dr. Dimeff said a study a few years ago and indicated that 10 percent of high school male athletes and 6 percent of females had used steroids that were not prescribed for them by a physician. Use among middle-schoolers was 2 percent.

Dr. Dimeff said he’s concerned about the psychological effects because steroids can create havoc in teenage brains that are still developing. Teens with a family history of mental illness or aggression particularly seem to be at risk, he said.

For more, see Friday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com