There’s a mystery that scientists want to solve: why are more men than women losing their lives to harmful drugs?
They looked at a lot of information from 2020-2021 and found something shocking. Men were more likely than women to die from taking certain drugs.
The Findings
The scientists found that men were 2–3 times more likely to die from taking drugs like opioids and psychostimulants. You might have heard of some of these drugs, like fentanyl, heroin, meth, and cocaine.
But the scientists found out that this isn’t just because more men are using drugs than women. There are more things going on here that make men more likely to die from these drugs.
The big question that comes up is: why is this happening?
The Research Team
The people who did this study are really smart. They work at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City and the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
This group is part of a larger one called the National Institutes of Health.
What the Experts Say
Nora Volkow, a doctor and director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, was part of the research. She said that there must be something causing more men to die from these drugs.
Maybe men are taking these drugs more often or in larger amounts. Or, there might be something that protects women from dying from these drugs.
Dr. Volkow said that it’s very important to understand these things better. Then, we can help protect people from dying from drug overdoses.
The Numbers
In 2021, around 107,000 people died from a drug overdose. Many of these deaths were because of a very strong drug called fentanyl. This drug is now often mixed in with other drugs.
And it’s not just a few more men who are dying from drug overdoses. It’s a lot more. The number of men who die from drug overdoses is much higher than the number of women who die from them.
The Study
The scientists wanted to know more about this. They looked at information about people who died from drug overdoses in each state.
They looked at people between the ages of 15 and 74. They found this information on a website run by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
What They Found
The scientists found that more men than women died from each of these drugs:
- Fentanyl: For every 100,000 people, 29 men died, compared to 11 women.
- Heroin: For every 100,000 people, 5.5 men died, compared to 2 women.
- Meth: For every 100,000 people, 13 men died, compared to 5.6 women.
- Cocaine: For every 100,000 people, 10.6 men died, compared to 4.2 women.
These findings were the same for all ages from 15 to 74, and in all states. The scientists found this even when they considered things like how much money people have.
Looking Closer
They also found out that men are more likely to misuse drugs (take them in a way that a doctor wouldn’t recommend).
But, the number of men who died from drug overdoses was much bigger than the number of men who misused drugs. For example, men were 2.8 times more likely to die from cocaine, but only 1.9 times more likely to misuse it than women.
Theories
Scientists think that many things could be causing this. Maybe men’s bodies react more strongly to these drugs. Or, men might be using these drugs in more dangerous ways than women.
There could also be things about being a man in our society that make them more likely to die from these drugs.
Moving Forward
Eduardo R. Butelman, a professor at the Icahn School of Medicine and a lead author on the study, said that we need to keep looking at how being a man or a woman affects how people use drugs and why they might die from them.
He said we need to understand how a person’s body, their behavior, and social factors come together with their gender to affect drug use and overdose deaths.
If you care about pain, please read studies that some common painkillers may actually cause chronic pain, and Tart cherry could help reduce inflammation.
For more information about health, please see recent studies that the painkiller ibuprofen may strongly influence your liver, and results showing Marijuana for pain relief may lead to withdrawal symptoms.
The study was published in Neuropsychopharmacology.
Copyright © 2023 Knowridge Science Report. All rights reserved.
