Don't rush to blame 'roid rage' for Moat's murder rampage

Jul 14 2010 by Ruth Lawson, The Journal

As speculation surrounds the driving force behind gunman Raoul Moat’s recent rampage, RUTH LAWSON talks to some leading experts about the possibility of “roid rage” being a contributory factor.

THE turbulent events of the last few days have fuelled reports that Raoul Moat may have launched his terrifying rampage while suffering the effects of steroid abuse.

But close friends of the killer have denied he took the drugs in the last few months of his life and, yesterday, medical professionals expressed concerns about blaming violent crime on steroids.

GP Robert Dawson, who set up the Drugs in Sport Clinic and User Support, in Chester-le-Street, has been studying the use of anabolic steroids as a performance enhancing drug for more than 16 years, and has said that research into its effects is notoriously difficult.

He said: “No real studies have actually said that the use of anabolic steroids leads to that kind of violence. The risks aren’t fully worked out.”

When Moat went on the run after killing Chris Brown and seriously injuring former girlfriend Samantha Stobbart and PC David Rathband, there was speculation that the cause of his aggression was down to “roid rage”, a term used to describe potential side effects caused by hormonal changes as a result of bodybuilding drugs.

But Dr Dawson is quick to highlight the grey area which surrounds the issue. He said: “With the long-term effects there’s a lot of sensationalism that goes on around it. How many people have died from the use of anabolic steroids in 10 years? Only two.”

He said major problems were actually physical rather than mental.

“The major problem they give users is acne,” said Dr Dawson. “But the main problem is to your heart, it alters the cholesterol levels in your body which may increase your chances of coronary artery disease, but there are other factors such as family history.”

The difficulty facing research into the long and short-term effects of the drug is partly down to the “placebo effect” in many trials. Numerous past studies have shown that patients suffering from aggressive outbursts and feelings of being wound up were in fact given the placebo drug, which casts a shadow over any assumptions about aggression.