Prevalence and correlates of appearance- and performance-enhancing drugs and substances use among a national sample of college students aged 18–30

Abstract

Objective: To identify the lifetime prevalence and correlates of appearance- and performance-enhancing drugs and substances (APEDS) use among a national sample of US college and university students. Participants: Student participants from the 2020–2021 Healthy Minds Study (N = 7,401; ages 18–30 years). Methods: Lifetime prevalence of five forms of APEDS was estimated. Modified Poisson regression analyses were conducted to determine the sociodemographic correlates of protein and creatine supplement use. Results: Lifetime protein (23.8%) and creatine (7.7%) supplement use were most common among the sample. Older age within young adulthood, male sex, perceiving oneself to be normal weight or somewhat overweight, any athletics participation, and 2–3 or ≥ 5 h/week of exercise were associated with greater likelihood of lifetime protein and creatine supplement use. Conclusions: Awareness and prevention efforts on the potential harms of APEDS use are needed on campuses, particularly among males and those who participate in athletics and high-frequency exercise.

Keywords:

• Anabolic-androgenic steroids
• college students
• creatine
• muscle-building
• whey protein

Conflict of interest disclosure

The authors have no competing interests to disclose. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, of the United States of America and received approval from the Institutional Review Boards of all Health Minds Study participating Institutions.

Data availability

The Healthy Minds Study is publicly available to researchers. Visit https://healthymindsnetwork.org/ for more information.

Additional information

Funding

J.M.N. is supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) (K08HL159350) and the American Heart Association (CDA34760281). No direct funding was used to support this study.