University of Chicago, School of Social Service Administration, 969 E. 60th Street, Chicago, IL 60637, United States.
University of Chicago, School of Social Service Administration, 969 E. 60th Street, Chicago, IL 60637, United States.
J Subst Abuse Treat. 2018 Apr;87:79-85. doi: 10.1016/j.jsat.2018.01.001. Epub 2018 Jan 5.
Trends in the current opioid epidemic in the United States show that use of heroin is increasing while nonmedical use of prescription opioids is slowing. Understanding gender differences in these trends is essential to efforts to address the opioid epidemic. This study compared gender difference in trends in heroin and nonmedical prescription opioid use in the U.S. between 2007 and 2014.
Data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) were used to trace prevalence and to estimate risk for heroin and nonmedical prescription opioid use in the last year for women and men.
Prevalence rates in the total sample (N = 447,188) indicate a notable increase in heroin use and a steady decline in the nonmedical use of prescription opioids between 2007 and 2014 for both women and men. Women are increasing heroin use at a faster rate than men but decreasing nonmedical prescription opioid use at a slower rate than men. Overall, risk factors for both heroin use and nonmedical prescription opioid use are similar to other illicit substances, but the magnitude of associations indicates that women may be at greater risk for the nonmedical use of prescription opioids than for the use of heroin.
Trend analyses reveal a linear increase in heroin use and a quadratic decline in nonmedical prescription opioid use at the population level. The differential rates of change between men and women in use of both opioids highlight the need for comprehensive, gender-sensitive approaches to prevention and treatment for both heroin and nonmedical prescription opioid use. Future research should continue to explore gender differences in treatment access, including access to medication-assisted treatments and treatments integrated with health and social services, especially for women.
美国当前阿片类药物流行趋势显示，海洛因的使用量在增加，而处方类阿片的非医疗用途正在减少。了解这些趋势中的性别差异对于解决阿片类药物流行问题至关重要。本研究比较了 2007 年至 2014 年期间美国女性和男性在海洛因和非医疗处方类阿片使用方面的性别差异趋势。
本研究使用国家药物使用与健康调查（NSDUH）的数据来追踪女性和男性在过去一年中使用海洛因和非医疗处方类阿片的流行率，并估计风险。
在总样本（n=447188）中，流行率表明，女性和男性的海洛因使用呈显著增加趋势，而非医疗处方类阿片的使用则呈稳步下降趋势。女性增加海洛因使用的速度比男性快，但减少非医疗处方类阿片使用的速度比男性慢。总体而言，海洛因使用和非医疗处方类阿片使用的风险因素与其他非法物质相似，但关联的幅度表明，女性可能比男性更容易出现非医疗处方类阿片使用问题，而不是海洛因使用问题。
趋势分析显示，在人口水平上，海洛因使用呈线性增加，而非医疗处方类阿片使用呈二次下降。男性和女性在这两种阿片类药物使用上的变化率差异突出了需要采取全面、性别敏感的预防和治疗方法来预防和治疗海洛因和非医疗处方类阿片的使用。未来的研究应继续探索女性在治疗方面的差异，包括获得药物辅助治疗和与健康和社会服务相结合的治疗的机会，尤其是对女性而言。
