OBJECTIVE: Drug overdoses among men have historically outnumbered those among women by a large margin. Yet, U.S. research on the first wave of the opioid epidemic involving prescription opioids has found women to be at increased risk. The current study considers if the narrowing gender gap in overdose deaths, as observed during the first wave, has continued into the most recent third wave, dominated by synthetic opioid deaths. This requires consideration of interactions between gender, age, and type of drug implicated. METHOD: Drawing on 2013-2017 Delaware toxicology reports for a total of 890 overdose deaths involving opioids, we distinguished between four gender/age groups--women 15-44, women 45-64, men 15-44, and men 45-64--to calculate crude death rates, male-to-female death rate ratios, and younger-to-older death rate ratios by type of opioid. RESULTS: Opioid overdose death rates during the third wave increased among both men (+102%) and women (+46%), but the larger increase among men resulted in an increase in the male-to-female death rate ratio (from 1.9 to 2.6). This trend was driven by the growing contribution of fentanyl (from 16% to 76%) and heroin overdose deaths (from 27% to 50%) compared with other opioid overdose deaths, which disproportionately affected men and younger individuals. Higher male-to-female death rate ratios were observed among older, compared with younger, individuals. CONCLUSIONS: Overdose deaths seem to have returned to a historically familiar pattern of dominance by younger males. Our findings suggest the gender-age distribution in deaths to specific opioid types must be considered for effective intervention.
OBJECTIVE:Drug overdoses among men have historically outnumbered those among women by a large margin. Yet, U.S. research on the first wave of the opioid epidemic involving prescription opioids has found women to be at increased risk. The current study considers if the narrowing gender gap in overdose deaths, as observed during the first wave, has continued into the most recent third wave, dominated by synthetic opioid deaths. This requires consideration of interactions between gender, age, and type of drug implicated. METHOD: Drawing on 2013-2017 Delaware toxicology reports for a total of 890 overdose deaths involving opioids, we distinguished between four gender/age groups--women 15-44, women 45-64, men 15-44, and men 45-64--to calculate crude death rates, male-to-female death rate ratios, and younger-to-older death rate ratios by type of opioid. RESULTS: Opioid overdose death rates during the third wave increased among both men (+102%) and women (+46%), but the larger increase among men resulted in an increase in the male-to-female death rate ratio (from 1.9 to 2.6). This trend was driven by the growing contribution of fentanyl (from 16% to 76%) and heroinoverdose deaths (from 27% to 50%) compared with other opioid overdose deaths, which disproportionately affected men and younger individuals. Higher male-to-female death rate ratios were observed among older, compared with younger, individuals. CONCLUSIONS:Overdose deaths seem to have returned to a historically familiar pattern of dominance by younger males. Our findings suggest the gender-age distribution in deaths to specific opioid types must be considered for effective intervention.
Authors: Hawre Jalal; Jeanine M Buchanich; Mark S Roberts; Lauren C Balmert; Kun Zhang; Donald S Burke Journal: Science Date: 2018-09-21 Impact factor: 47.728
Authors: Eduardo R Butelman; Carina Y Chen; Kimberly J Lake; Kate G Brown; Mary Jeanne Kreek Journal: Exp Clin Psychopharmacol Date: 2020-10-29 Impact factor: 3.157
Authors: Sarah A Palumbo; Kayleigh M Adamson; Sarathbabu Krishnamurthy; Shivani Manoharan; Donielle Beiler; Anthony Seiwell; Colt Young; Raghu Metpally; Richard C Crist; Glenn A Doyle; Thomas N Ferraro; Mingyao Li; Wade H Berrettini; Janet D Robishaw; Vanessa Troiani Journal: JAMA Netw Open Date: 2020-09-01
Authors: Helena Biancuzzi; Francesca Dal Mas; Valerio Brescia; Stefano Campostrini; Marco Cascella; Arturo Cuomo; Lorenzo Cobianchi; Ander Dorken-Gallastegi; Anthony Gebran; Haytham M Kaafarani; Franco Marinangeli; Maurizio Massaro; Angela Renne; Giacomo Scaioli; Rym Bednarova; Alessandro Vittori; Luca Miceli Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2022-09-17 Impact factor: 4.614