“Steroids are synthetic drugs that imitate hormones our bodies produce naturally as part of maturation or in response to stress. Anabolic steroids imitate male sex hormones — the proper term for them is anabolic-androgenic steroids. The term anabolic refers to the process of building muscle tissue, while androgenic refers to male sex characteristics. Anabolic steroids are the kind typically abused by athletes.

People often think of anabolic steroids when someone refers to steroids, but the term steroids may also refer to corticosteroids. These steroids imitate cortisone hormones produced by the body’s adrenal glands in response to stress. There are also other performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) that people sometimes mistakenly refer to as steroids…

According to the medical journal Pediatrics in Review, performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) include various “anabolic agents,” such as anabolic steroids and steroid precursors, as well as nutritional supplements, stimulants, and other agonists, such as human growth hormone. People sometimes refer to performance enhancing drugs generally as steroids. While it’s true that steroids are PEDs, PEDs are not necessarily all steroids.”

Apr. 14, 2021