It's
not just young people succumbing to the epidemic
by Stephanie
Thurrott | January 15, 2019
The number of
middle-aged women overdosing on opioids and anti-depressants has increased
dramatically in the past 18 years, according to a recently released study from The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The study found that
from 1999 to 2017 the rate of these deaths in women age 50 to 54 increased by
350%. For women age 55 to 64 it was worse—nearly 500%.
Deaths from
prescription opioids jumped significantly. They increased in every age group,
and climbed the most—more than 1,000%—in women age 55 to 64.
Overall, the study
evaluated data from the National Vital Statistics System for women age 30 to 64. For
the full age range the death rate increased 260%.
“Attention has been
focused on the young,” says Tricia Hudson-Matthew, director of the Center for
Addiction Studies at Metropolitan State University of Denver. “But we’re seeing
increasing numbers [of drug use and abuse] in people 45 and older.”
Women are overdosing
on both legal and illicit drugs. The study examined deaths caused by
antidepressants, benzodiazepines, cocaine, heroin, prescription
opioids like OxyContin and Vicodin, and synthetic opioids like
fentanyl.
Overdoses attributed
to antidepressants also climbed, the report found, with sharper increases in
middle-aged women than in their younger counterparts. The death rate attributed
to antidepressant overdose increased 300% among women age 55 to 59 and almost
400% in those age 60 to 64.
But it was the number
of deaths from prescription opioids that jumped most significantly. Those
numbers increased in every age group, and climbed the most—more than 1,000%—in
women age 55 to 64.
Prescription opioids
are a gateway for addiction and drug abuse, and some of these deaths are
occurring in women who have long struggled with addiction.
“We are going into
the second decade of the opioid crisis,” says Dessa Bergen-Cico, an associate
professor and coordinator of the Addiction Studies program at Syracuse
University.
“It’s a chronic
relapsing condition. Treatment is very difficult and success rates are pretty
low,” she says.
Problems with
prescriptions
Yet it’s not just
addicts who are dying from drug overdoses. “It could be somewhat newer users,
or people taking multiple medications,” Bergen-Cico says.
“Once you have
different medicines on board you can take them too close together, or you don’t
remember if you took them. A lot of things can go into it,” she says.
Many medications can
affect your thinking and memory. You might not recall if you took medicine
eight hours earlier or 12 hours earlier, for example. Taking too much
medication, or combining medications, can lead to respiratory failure.
“It’s easy to
overdose when you have multiple depressants in your system,” she says. “Most
people don’t think it’s going to happen to them.”
What you can do
Bergen-Cico points
out that as you get older, you’re more likely to have orthopedic surgery or
other procedures where doctors prescribe opioids for pain management.
“There’s that sense
of safety that if someone in the healthcare system is prescribing something,
it’s in your best interest,” she says.
“It’s
easy to overdose when you have multiple depressants in your system.
Dessa
Bergen-Cico Addiction
Studies program, Syracuse University
While that may be
true, if you’re prescribed medication to control pain, your doctor should make
you aware of the potential risks and the warning signs of addiction. If your
doctor doesn’t bring it up, ask.
The report points out
that women of childbearing age are more likely to be informed about the risk
and benefits of drugs than middle-aged women.
Don’t assume you’re
immune to drug use or addiction because of your age.
“People think if
they’re 45 or 50 it’s not going to happen to them,” Bergen-Cico says.
“They think, ‘I’m not
a teenager,'” she says. “We know addiction touches every race, gender and
economic status. We need to remember that it touches every age group, too.”
If you’re
self-medicating to manage your emotions, seek professional help.
Hudson-Matthew says
some people reach middle age without developing coping skills, and then they
suffer a loss like the death of a parent and they aren’t able to manage.
They reach for the
prescriptions in their medicine cabinets to numb their feelings. They may take
more medication, or take it more frequently, while still believing they have
everything under control.
It’s important to be
honest with yourself, Hudson-Matthew says. If you’re self-medicating to manage
your emotions, seek professional help.
For people who are
taking opioid pain medications, Bergen-Cico recommends having naloxone (Narcan
or Avzio) on hand, and having family members trained in how to use it. “That
helps in terms of reversal of an overdose,” she says.
https://considerable.com/opioid-deaths-rose-a-shocking-500-among-middle-aged-women-new-study-shows/
No comments:
Post a Comment