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Illicit Hormone Use

Meaning

Illicit Hormone Use refers to the unauthorized, non-medical, or unsupervised use of prescription hormonal substances, typically for performance enhancement, aesthetic alteration, or anti-aging purposes outside of a legitimate clinical indication and prescriber-patient relationship. This practice often involves hormones like anabolic-androgenic steroids, human growth hormone, or thyroid hormones obtained without a valid prescription or from unregulated sources. The clinical concern centers on the significant, often severe, health risks associated with supraphysiological dosing, lack of medical monitoring, and the potential for contaminated or mislabeled products. This misuse is distinct from medically supervised hormone replacement therapy.