Some Bodybuilders Face A.I.D.S. Risk (Press, 19 January 1985)
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Summary: Some Bodybuilders Face A.I.D.S. Risk (Press, 19 January 1985)
On 19 January 1985, a news report highlighted a case involving a 37-year-old body-builder who may have contracted AIDS through the use of shared needles while injecting muscle-building steroids. The case was discussed by six doctors in a letter published in the "New England Journal of Medicine" from Nassau Hospital in Long Island, New York. The individual, who denied engaging in homosexual relationships, fell within a demographic typically considered at higher risk for AIDS, including homosexuals, individuals from Haiti, injectable drug users, and haemophiliacs. The medical community has established that AIDS, or acquired immune deficiency syndrome, is transmitted through sexual contact, the sharing of contaminated needles, and blood transfusions, but not through casual contact. The doctors pointed out a growing health risk posed by body-builders who use anabolic steroids, given the increasing popularity of athletic pursuits and the prevalence of needle sharing among athletes. The body-builder in question confessed to injecting steroids almost weekly over a four-year period, frequently using shared needles with other body-builders at various gyms. His needle-sharing practices ceased about two years prior to his hospital admission when he contracted hepatitis. Additionally, he admitted to injecting cocaine just six months before his hospital visit. AIDS is characterized by the body's inability to fend off diseases, and while its exact cause remains unclear, researchers believe it is associated with a virus first identified in France in 1983. As of late November 1984, AIDS had affected 6,993 individuals in the United States, resulting in 3,342 deaths since the disease's emergence in 1979. The report serves as a warning to the body-building community and other athletes regarding the risks associated with needle sharing and the potential for contracting this serious disease.
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