BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, May 28 (Xinhua) -- Brunei is experiencing an increasing trend of steroid abuse among image-obsessed young men, which has become one of the main causes of heart attack among them, a local well-known medical expert said.
According to a local media report on Sunday, the growing concern over heart attacks due to steroid abuse was highlighted by Mohd Khairulamin, nursing lecturer of Pengiran Anak Puteri Rashidah Sa'adatul Bolkiah Institute of Health Sciences of Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) .
According to statistics from 2014 to 2017, 23 heart attack cases among youths have been reported by hospitals in this 400,000 population country and steroid abuse was found to be the reason in all the cases.
Anabolic steroids have muscle-building capabilities, which explains their prevalence in bodybuilding in Brunei and other parts of the world. The use of anabolic steroids can be linked to elevated blood pressure and cholesterol levels -- both risk factors for heart disease.
In 2015, coronary diseases were Brunei's second major cause of death after cancer. A total of 193 deaths occurred due to heart diseases, while heart attack was the second main cause of death among heart ailments with 82 deaths.
