Over three million deaths per year were attributable to alcohol consumption and drug use, a new report from the World Health Organization (WHO) found. Of these deaths, 2.6 million were attributable to alcohol consumption, accounting for nearly five per cent of all deaths, with the highest numbers in the WHO European Region and African Region. Get detailed national estimates from the 2020 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). The tables provide comprehensive statistics on substance use, mental health, and treatment in the United States. This is because changes in survey methodology mean the indicators are not comparable to past NSDUH estimates. The report highlights that despite some reduction in the alcohol-related death rates since 2010, the overall number of deaths due to alcohol consumption remains unacceptably high and amounts to 2.6 million in 2019, with the highest numbers in the European Region and the African region.
- Despite all this, it has been described that women who adhere to specialized treatment achieve better results [24] than men and are also more predisposed to receive information about the treatment process [25].
- According to Monitoring the Future Study in 2016, 9.1% of 12th grade girls reported past-month electronic cigarette use, a rate significantly lower than boys of the same age (16.1%) (Johnston, O’Malley, Miech, Bachman, & Schulenberg, 2017).
- Women may be more likely to overdose and die of an overdose with this class of drugs than men.
- Prenatal opioid use is also growing, and the number of babies born with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) increased more than five-fold from 2004 to 2014.
- Addiction can arise as a result of any mental health disorders as individuals attempt to self-medicate.
- A collaborative approach where the therapist acts as a partner to the woman in identifying and changing negative emotions and behaviors is the most effective.
Availability of data and materials
- The co-occurrence of addiction and other mental health disorders makes it much more complex to treat both conditions.
- Research from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) suggests that more males use drugs at an earlier age not because they are more susceptible to substance abuse, but because they have more opportunities.
- Rates of alcohol-related emergency department visits, hospitalizations, and deaths all have increased among adults during the past two decades.
- Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology proposes that differences in brain chemistry and the influence of female sex hormones like estrogen may account for women’s susceptibility to certain drugs, including stimulants like meth and cocaine.
- Sex-disaggregated adverse events, retention, and compliance were also not typically reported.
Striatal dopamine release–which is reflective of activation of the brain reward pathways–is higher in men relative to women in response to stimulants (Munro et al., 2006), alcohol (Urban et al., 2010), and nicotine (Cosgrove et al., 2014). Although further research is needed to fully understand the impact of these volumetric and functional differences, these studies provide an initial indication of neural correlates of observed sex gender differences in SUDs, such as greater stress-related vulnerabilities in women (see below). Of note, these differences may be attributable to biological as well as gender-related differences (e.g., neurobiologic differences between sexes as well as environmental cues related to gender).
Biological Sex Differences in Substance Use
She is a certified addiction specialist who has worked as a crisis hotline volunteer, discharge planner, therapist, director of case management, and clinical supervisor. Lynskey-Lake received her Masters in Social Work from Simmons College and trained at the Harvard School of Medicine’s Division https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/6-ways-to-take-a-break-from-drinking-alcohol/ on Addiction. Before coming to Origins, she served as Substance Use Director at one of the largest behavioral health agencies in Florida. Despite this, there is a closer association between women and alcohol-related injuries and health conditions, such as organ and brain damage.
Summary Statistics on Female and Male Alcohol Use and Outcomes in the United States
They may also be subjected to the idea that seeking treatment places a burden on their family as well as society. Ecstasy is also incredibly dehydrating and impairs the body’s ability to purge excess water and reduce blood sodium levels. When a dehydrated individual on ecstasy begins drinking large amounts of water, their brain alcoohol is better than drugs cells could hold on to that water instead of releasing it. Having the support of a highly trained, multidisciplinary staff can help individuals of both genders recover from the disease of addiction and regain hope for the future. Heritability of SUD has been previously described [60] through family, adoption, and twin studies.
Alcohol abuse kills three million people a year, most of them men – WHO report
- In treating SUD, CBT also focuses on identifying and resolving factors that reinforce or punish the substance use behavior and teaching both general coping skills and coping skills to negotiate drinking triggers.
- A number of biological differences exist between males and females in the acute and long-term effects of alcohol and other drugs.
- With a focus on interventions, such as trauma-informed care, that address both mental health issues and substance use disorders, health professionals can better address the complex nature of drug misuse among men and reduce the risk of overdose.
Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology proposes that differences in brain chemistry and the influence of female sex hormones like estrogen may account for women’s susceptibility to certain drugs, including stimulants like meth and cocaine. Research from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) suggests that more males use drugs at an earlier age not because they are more susceptible to substance abuse, but because they have more opportunities. Teenage males are more likely to be exposed to drugs through their peer group than teenage girls, who are often introduced to drugs by boys. A study sponsored by NIDA shows that after being initiated into drug use, males and females are equally likely to continue using. There are several behavioral treatments now known to be efficacious for AUD, but there is almost no examination of gender differences in the AUD psychotherapy process and mechanisms of behavior change in this research literature. For example, the authors of this paper found 49 articles published between 2000 and 2012 (26 published since 2010) studying mechanisms of change in CBT, Motivational Interviewing, or MET or examining general therapeutic alliance as a mechanism of change.
- This means that after a woman and a man of the same weight drink the same amount of alcohol, the woman’s blood alcohol concentration (the amount of alcohol in the blood) will tend to be higher, putting her at greater risk for harm.
- Girls usually started using alcohol and other drugs as coping strategies to face depression, anxiety, and negative feelings [21], whereas men usually initiate the use of drugs influenced by peers or sensation-seeking [22].
- Women present distinct epidemiology, natural history, course, and response to treatment in SUD.
- Men are more likely to die from a prescription overdose, but women have experienced a more significant increase in overdoses related to opioids.
- However, as in the trial by Kowalczyk, the sample size did not support a gender-specific analysis in this study.
