Opioid overdose deaths rose fivefold among US women in 10 years

Abstract

Deaths related to use of prescription opioid painkillers by women in the United States rose from 1287 in 1999 to 6631 in 2010, a more than fivefold increase, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported.1 In a video briefing released with the report, the CDC’s director, Tom Frieden, said, “Prescription opiate overdoses is a growing and under-recognized risk for women in the United States. Doctors need to be cautious about prescribing, and patients about using, these drugs.” The report’s authors, Karin Mack, Christopher Jones, and Leonard Paulozzi, of …