Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2010 Nov;35(11):1001-7.
doi: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2010.06.018. Epub 2010 Jun 22.

Gender and prescription opioids: findings from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health

Sudie E Back  1 , Rebecca L Payne, Annie N Simpson, Kathleen T Brady
Affiliations

Gender and prescription opioids: findings from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health

Sudie E Back et al. Addict Behav. 2010 Nov.

Abstract

Background: Significant gender differences in drug and alcohol use have been reported; however, little is known about gender differences in prescription opioid misuse and dependence. This study compared correlates, sources and predictors of prescription opioid non-medical use, as well as abuse or dependence among men and women in a nationally-representative sample.

Methods: Participants were 55,279 (26,746 men, 28,533 women) non-institutionalized civilians aged 12years and older who participated in the National Survey on Drug Use and Health.

Results: Rates of lifetime and past-year non-medical use of prescription opiates were 13.6% and 5.1%, respectively. Significantly more men than women endorsed lifetime (15.9% vs. 11.2%) and past-year use (5.9% vs. 4.2%; ps<0.0001). Among past-year users, 13.2% met criteria for current prescription opiate abuse or dependence, and this did not differ significantly by gender. Polysubstance use and treatment underutilization were common among both men and women, however significantly fewer women than men had received alcohol or drug abuse treatment (p=0.001). Men were more likely than women to obtain prescription opioids for free from family or friends, and were more likely to purchase them from a dealer (ps<.01). Gender-specific predictors of use as compared to abuse/dependence were also observed.

Conclusions: The findings highlight important differences between men and women using prescription opiates. The observed differences may help enhance the design of gender-sensitive surveillance, identification, prevention and treatment interventions.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 4. American Psychiatric Press; Washington, DC: 2000. Text Revision.
    1. Back SE, Payne RA, Waldrop AE, Smith A, Reeves S, Brady KT. Prescription opioid berrant behaviors: a pilot study of sex differences. Clinical Journal of Pain. 2009;25(6):477–484. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Banta-Green CJ, Merrill JO, Doyle SR, Boudreau DM, Calsyn DA. Opioid use behaviors, mental health and pain--development of a typology of chronic pain patients. Drug and Alcohol Dependence. 2009;104(1–2):34–42. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Becker WC, Sullivan LE, Tetrault JM, Desai RA, Fiellin DA. Non-medical use, abuse and dependence on prescription opioids among U.S. adults: psychiatric, medical and substance use correlates. Drug and Alcohol Dependence. 2008;94(1–3):38–47. - PubMed
    1. Blanco C, Alderson D, Ogburn E, Grant BF, Nunes EV, Hatzenbuehler ML, Hasin DS. Changes in the prevalence of non-medical prescription drug use and drug use disorders in the United States: 1991–1992 and 2001–2002. Drug and Alcohol Dependence. 2007;90(2–3):252–260. - PubMed