Female Brains & Painkiller Overdoses

According to statistics released by the Centers for Disease Control, overdose deaths from prescription painkiller is a growing epidemic, especially among women. Here are a few sobering statistics:

• About 18 women die every day of a prescription painkiller overdose in the US, more than 6,600 deaths in 2010.

• Nearly 48,000 women died of prescription painkiller overdoses between 1999 and 2010.

Although men are still more likely to die of prescription painkiller overdoses (more than 10,000 deaths in 2010), the gap between men and women is closing. Deaths from prescription painkiller overdoses among women have increased more than 400% since 1999, compared to 265% increase among men. For every woman who dies of a prescription painkiller overdose, 30 women go to the emergency department for painkiller misuse or abuse.

http://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/PrescriptionPainkillerOverdoses/index.html