Evidence Methodology

The four grades

Established. Consistent findings from adequately powered randomised controlled trials in humans, with results that survive independent replication. For SARMs specifically, very little reaches this bar, and pages say so.

Probable. Human trial evidence exists and points consistently in one direction, but is limited by sample size, duration, population, or absence of replication.

Preliminary. Early human data, or strong animal data with a plausible and specified mechanism. Not a basis for expecting the same result in a person.

Insufficient. Animal or in-vitro data only, single case reports, or claims widely repeated without a traceable source. This is the default. A claim does not move up because it is popular.

What we record for each compound

• Regulatory and approval status, by jurisdiction
• Status under the current WADA prohibited list
• Completed and active human trials, with registry identifiers
• The populations and doses actually studied — not the doses discussed online
• Endpoints measured and results reported, including trials that failed
• Adverse events and published case reports
• Product analysis research on contamination, mislabelling and underdosing
• An evidence grade, with the specific uncertainties stated
• Revision history

Failed and discontinued trials count

A compound whose development programme was discontinued is a finding, not an absence of one. Where a trial ended early or missed its endpoint, the page records it. Selective reporting of positive results is the most common failure in writing about this category.

What a grade is not

A grade describes the strength of evidence for a specific effect. It is not a safety rating, not an endorsement, and not a recommendation. A compound can carry a high evidence grade for an effect and still be unapproved, prohibited in sport, and associated with serious documented harm. Those are separate axes and the pages keep them separate.

Product quality is a separate problem

Published analyses have repeatedly found products sold as SARMs to be mislabelled, underdosed, or to contain entirely different compounds. This means evidence about a molecule cannot be assumed to apply to a product bearing its name. Where such analysis exists, we record it on the compound page.