Painkiller Overdoses Claiming More Women

Updated June 08, 2015.

Written or reviewed by a board-certified physician. See About.com's Medical Review Board.

Prescription drug abuse in the United States remains a growing problem, particularly among women, who are dying from painkiller overdoses at an unprecedented rate. The number of prescription painkiller overdoses has increase 400% among women since 1999, while increasing 265% among men.

Prescription drug overdoses claimed the lives of 48,000 women between 1999 and 2010, according to the latest government statistics.

Although men are still more likely to die from prescription painkiller overdose, deaths are increasing at a much greater rate among women.

A Growing Prescription Drug Problem

A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention "Vital Signs" report in July 2013, revealed that 42 women die each day from a drug overdose, and 18 of those deaths are from prescription painkillers, such as opioid or narcotic pain relievers like Vicodin (hydrocodone), OxyContin (oxycodone), Opana (oxymorphone), and methadone.
The number of deaths due to painkiller overdose among women is an indication of a wider problem. For every woman who dies from an overdose, 30 more end up in the emergency room for prescription drug misuse or abuse. According to the CDC report, more than 200,000 women visited emergency departments for opioid abuse in 2010. That is one every three minutes.

Dangerous Drug Combinations

One reason overdose deaths may be increasing more rapidly among women is that women are more likely to be taking other drugs that could interact negatively with painkillers.

National Institute on Drug Abuse Director Dr. Nora Volkow said that women are more likely than men to be prescribed psychotherapeutic drugs to treat depression and anxiety.
Combined with painkillers, those psychotherapeutic drugs, particularly benzodiazepines, could cause serious side-effects and sometimes lead to overdose deaths.

Women More Vulnerable

According to the CDC, there are other reasons why prescription painkiller overdoses are increasing faster among women:

Women are more likely to have chronic pain so therefore are prescribed higher doses of painkillers for longer periods of time.
Women can become dependent on prescription painkiller more quickly.
Woman may be more likely to engage in "doctor shopping" than men.

Older Women at Greater Risk

The CDC study found that older women were more likely to die from painkiller overdose. The highest number of deaths due to overdose were among women aged 45 to 54, while the second highest was among women 55 to 64 years of age.
Among ethnic groups, non-Hispanic white, Native American and Alaska Native women were more likely to died from prescription painkiller overdoses than other groups.

Steps to Prevent Overdose

There are some steps women can take to help prevent accidental overdoses of painkillers:

Tell your healthcare provider all medications you are taking.
Use prescription drugs only as directed.
Dispose of unused medications promptly and properly.
Don't share prescription meds with anyone else.
If you think you have an substance abuse problem, get help.

The CDC report suggested that healthcare providers can play a role in preventing overdoses by recognizing women are at greater risk, considering pain treatment options that do not include drugs, discuss the risks with their patients and follow guidelines for responsible painkiller prescribing.
^Sources:

^{Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Prescription Painkiller Overdoses." Vital Signs July 2013}

^{Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Policy Impact: Prescription Painkiller Overdoses." Injury Prevention & Control Updated July 2, 2013}