1 Division of Adolescent Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, CDMRC, Mail Slot WJ-10, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195
In Reply.
Thank you for your letter regarding the article, "Anabolic Steroid Use by Male Adolescents," published in the June 1989 issue Pediatrics. I will attempt to address each of your concerns. The intent of the article was: (1) to inform health care providers about the prevalence of use of anabolic steroids in a population of 11th grade male students, (2) to increase provider awareness of the knowledge and some of the beliefs held by steroid users, and (3) to encourage providers to become knowledgeable about these drugs, so that they might be able to offer more appropriate guidance to the teenager in the clinical setting.