For years, males have turned to synthetic hormones in an attempt to bulk up or improve athletic performance. It has also been known for years that engaging in this activity is a health risk and one that can put the individual's life at risk. Despite the known risks, however, individuals continue to use outside substances to try and boost their natural abilities.

A Medical News Today report focused on a recent issue of The American Journal on Addictions in which it was revealed that the illicit use of the human growth hormone (HGH) has become common among young male weightlifters in the United States.

This report also found that the illicit use of HGH among this population has also been associated with polysubstance abuse that involves both performance-enhancing and classical drugs. While HGH was once an expensive performance-enhancing drug that was only used by elite athletes; it has become readily available at a very cheap price on the street.

The report was based on research conducted by Brian P. Brennan, MD, MSc, of McLean Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Brennan evaluated 231 male weightlifters in the U.S. in the age range of 18-40 and reported on their drug use. He found that 27 of these weightlifters, or 12 percent, reported they used HGH – or its close relative, insulin-like growth factor-I – illicitly.

All of the men identified as users of the hormone had also used anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS), while 15 – or 56 percent – of these men also reported the current or past use of opioids, cocaine, and/or ecstasy. The findings suggest that while HGH use is common, it is also readily associated with the abuse of AAS and ordinary street drugs.