Abuse of androgenic anabolic steroids (AAS) was especially prevalent in professional wrestling throughout the 1980s and early 1990s until a widely publicized federal trial regarding AAS abuse in 1992 [2]. Both AAS and analgesic abuse have been linked to cardiovascular disease [3], [4]. The abuse of these drugs may play a role in the premature cardiac-related deaths of professional wrestlers that receive media attention.
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Our findings suggest many of the premature deaths in active professional wrestlers result from adverse health behaviors including the abuse of performance enhancing drugs, the abuse of prescription and non-prescription drugs, and obesity that may be related to the duties performed and injuries sustained [3], [4], [6], [22]–[24]. It is reasonable to assume chronic musculoskeletal injuries resulting in abuse of pain-relieving prescription drugs play a role in the premature drug-related deaths and possibly suicide among some wrestlers. It is also plausible that the painful injuries are self-treated with high doses of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), which can cause or worsen hypertension and increase the risk of heart and kidney failure [25]–[27].