DETECTION OF ANABOLIC-STEROID ADMINISTRATION - RATIO OF URINARY TESTOSTERONE TO EPITESTOSTERONE VS THE RATIO OF URINARY TESTOSTERONE TO LUTEINIZING-HORMONE

Our goal in this study was to determine whether the urinary ratio of t estosterone to luteinizing hormone (T/LH) as an indicator of exogenous anabolic steroid (AS) use is superior to the urinary ratio of testost erone to epitestosterone (T/E). After 2 weekly placebo injections, 19 subjects were given testosterone cypionate (TC) injections of 250 or 5 00 mg/week for 14 weeks followed by 14 weekly placebo injections. Pati ents were considered to have ceased taking TC if they tested negative 9 weeks after their last injection. For detection of illicit or suprap hysiological TC (AS) use, the urinary T/E ratio of greater than or equ al to 6 yielded a false-negative rate of 46% and a false-positive rate of 4%. However, a urinary T/LH ratio of greater than or equal to 30 p roduced a false-negative rate of only 24% and a false-positive rate of 13%. We conclude that the urinary T/LH ratio of greater than or equal to 30 is a more sensitive marker of AS use than the urinary T/E ratio of greater than or equal to 6 and remains sensitive for twice as long as urinary T/E.