People who use anabolic steroids to improve their gym or sporting performance are much more likely to experience memory problems, a new study has found.

Anabolic steroids are drugs that are sometimes abused by people such as bodybuilders and athletes. This is because they can increase muscle mass, energy, confidence and motivation, and can help some people to train harder and recover quicker.

However, these drugs can also make people more aggressive (‘roid rage'), paranoid, moody and depressed. Other adverse effects include high blood pressure, an increased risk of heart attack and stroke, impotence in men and facial hair growth in women.

According to UK researchers, it is estimated that among some specialist gym users, such as weightlifters and bodybuilders, up to 38% of people take anabolic steroids. They decided to assess the impact of these drugs on everyday memory.

They looked at 100 men aged between 18 and 30 years. All of the participants were regular gym users and half took anabolic steroids.

The study found that those who took steroids had much poorer memory overall.

When it came to prospective memory - that is the process of remembering to do something you had planned to do, such as paying a bill before it is due - steroid users were 39% more forgetful than non-steroid users.

When it came to retrospective memory - that is recalling past memories or facts - steroid users were 28% more forgetful.

When it came to executive functioning, the steroid users were 32% worse off. Executive functioning refers to mental processes that are required to perform everyday activities such as managing time, planning, paying attention, organising and strategising.

"The non-medical use of anabolic-androgenic steroid use came to the forefront in the 1960s when elite athletes and bodybuilders used the drugs to promote muscle growth and improve performance levels. Since the 1980s many millions of individuals worldwide have used such steroids in a sporting context, which has now become much more widespread within non-competitive recreational sports circles," explained Dr Tom Heffernan of Northumbria University.

He noted that while the overall health risks associated with these drugs are relatively well documented, ‘much less is known about what the everyday consequences of their use may be'.

"Our findings suggest that long-term use of anabolic steroids has a significant impact on an individual's everyday memory and ability to remember. This could affect many spheres of life, including interpersonal, occupational, educational and health-related aspects, given the ubiquitous nature of everyday remembering," Dr Heffernan added.

Details of these findings are published in The Open Psychiatry Journal.