Adverse Effects of Prolonged Steroid Use: A Focus on Metabolic and Endocrine Disruption

Nyambura Achieng M.

School of Natural and Applied Sciences Kampala International University Uganda

                                                                    ABSTRACT
Prolonged corticosteroid use, though vital in treating inflammatory, autoimmune, and allergic disorders, is frequently associated with serious metabolic and endocrine complications. Extended exposure to glucocorticoids disrupts critical physiological pathways regulating glucose metabolism, bone formation, lipid balance, and hormonal secretion. Consequently, patients are at increased risk of developing hyperglycemia, osteoporosis, adrenal suppression, and obesity, conditions that significantly impair quality of life and complicate disease management. This review comprehensively explores the mechanisms underlying corticosteroid-induced metabolic and endocrine disruptions, detailing their clinical manifestations and associated risk factors. It also highlights preventive strategies, including patient education, lifestyle modification, and close clinical monitoring, as essential components of longterm management. Furthermore, emerging therapeutic approaches such as corticosteroid-sparing agents and selective glucocorticoid receptor modulators (SGRMs) offer promising avenues to reduce systemic toxicity while maintaining therapeutic efficacy. Understanding these adverse effects is crucial for clinicians to balance treatment benefits against long-term risks, promote safer corticosteroid use, and improve patient outcomes through personalized and evidence-based care.

Keywords: corticosteroids, glucocorticoids, metabolic dysfunction, endocrine disruption, osteoporosis.

CITE AS: Nyambura Achieng M. (2026). Adverse Effects of Prolonged Steroid Use: A Focus on Metabolic and Endocrine Disruption. INOSR APPLIED SCIENCES 14(2):28-32.
https://doi.org/10.59298/INOSRAS/2025/14.2.2832