Anabolic-androgenic steroid use in the Nordic Countries: A meta-analysis and meta-regression
analysis
Sammanfattning
AIMS - To investigate the lifetime prevalence and moderators of non-medical AAS use in the five
Nordic countries. METHODS - We conducted a meta-analysis and meta-regression using studies
gathered from searches in PsycINFO, PubMed, ISI Web of Science, Google Scholar, and reference
checks. Included were 32 studies that provided original data on 48 lifetime prevalence rates based
on a total of 233,475 inhabitants of the Nordic countries. RESULTS - The overall lifetime prevalence
obtained was 2.1% [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.3-3.4, I 2 = 99.5, P < 0.001]. The prevalence for
males, 2.9% (95% CI: 1.7-4.8, I 2 = 99.2, P < 0.001), was significantly higher (Qbet = 40.5, P < 0.001)
than the rate for females, 0.2% (95% CI: 0.1-0.4, I 2 = 90.5, P < 0.001). Sweden has the highest
prevalence of AAS use: 4.4%, followed by Norway: 2.4%, Finland: 0.8%, Iceland: 0.7%, and Denmark:
0.5%. Country, sample type, and male sample percentage significantly predicted AAS use prevalence
in a meta-regression analysis. No indication of publication bias was found. CONCLUSION - Though
subject to some limitations, our fndings suggest that non-medical AAS use should be regarded as a
serious public health problem in the Nordic countries.