Women Hit Hard in Rising Toll From Painkiller Overdoses

Source: New York Times 7-2-2013

Prescription painkiller addiction has long been seen as mainly a man’s problem, but a new analysis of federal data released Tuesday shows that in recent years the death rate has risen far faster among women.

Fatal overdoses from prescription pain pills increased fivefold among women from 1999 to 2010, the most recent year for which the federal government has final data. The rate among men tripled over the same period, according to the analysis, which was conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

More women die from drug overdoses than from cervical cancer or car accidents. Four times as many died over the last decade from drug overdoses than from homicides. And while the absolute number of overdose deaths is still higher for men, women are catching up.

The rising rate of overdoses among women is what Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, the director of the C.D.C., called “a sleeper problem.” Even medical professionals who work in the field expressed surprise, he said.

“It’s a big problem among women,” Dr. Frieden said. “It’s underrecognized.”

Experts offered medical theories for the rise. Women have smaller body mass than men, so the gap between a therapeutic dose and a dangerous dose is narrower. Some studies have found that women are more likely to have chronic pain. Other patterns in women are not well understood. For example, they are more likely to be given higher doses of painkillers, and more likely than men to use them for a long time.

Women addicts interviewed for this article said they believed that it had to do with the changing nature of American society. The rise of the single-parent household has thrust immense responsibility on women, who are both the primary breadwinner and parent. Some said they craved the numbness that drugs bring as a response to feeling overwhelmed by life’s responsibilities. Others said highs brought feelings of prettiness, strength and productiveness.

The rate among women for all drug overdose deaths — not just those from painkillers — was highest for those ages 45 to 54, the C.D.C. analysis found. In 2010, 15,323 women died of drug overdoses, compared with 23,006 men. Among men and women, the highest death rate was among Native Americans and whites.