Long term use of male sex hormones in females is deleterious to their health.
Long term use of male sex hormones in females is deleterious to their health.
The state-sponsored doping program of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) systematically administered androgens and other drugs to several thousand athletes, including minors, from 1966 onwards, leading to harmful side effects such as virilization in adolescent girls and female athletes, and other damaging effects that required medical and surgical interventions. [1]
Initiated in 1966, the German Democratic Republic (GDR) embarked on an extensive state-sponsored doping program. This program involved the systematic delivery of androgens and other substances to thousands of athletes, some of whom were minors. Women and adolescent girls were at the core of this program as the introduction of androgens was discovered to dramatically enhance their athletic performance. The ensuing side effects, including virilization in females, were deleterious and often so severe that they required medical and surgical responses. The program’s existence was only unveiled with the fall of the GDR in 1990, through the recovery of preserved classified documents.
REFERENCES
[1] Franke, W. W., & Berendonk, B. (1997). Hormonal doping and androgenization of athletes: a secret program of the German Democratic Republic government. Clinical chemistry, 43(7), 1262-1279. [Link]