U.S. cases rose 75 percent for females versus 55 percent for males over a decade, researchers say
WEDNESDAY, June 21, 2017 (HealthDay News) -- Opioid-related hospitalizations among women in the United States increased far faster than among men between 2005 and 2014, according to the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).
Among women, hospitalizations involving opioids or heroin rose 75 percent, compared to 55 percent among men. The surge among women during that 10-year period meant that by 2014 males and females were being hospitalized at a similar rate -- about 225 hospitalizations per 100,000 people. In 2014, hospitalization rates among women were highest in West Virginia, Maryland, and Massachusetts, exceeding 350 per 100,000 people. Among men, the highest rates were in the District of Columbia, New York, and Maryland, topping 440 hospitalizations per 100,000. The lowest rates for men and women were in Iowa and Nebraska.
Men were more likely than women to make opioid-related visits to emergency departments in 2014, but such visits rose sharply for both sexes between 2005 and 2014. Affected age groups varied from state to state, and in some places seniors were hit especially hard. For example, in California and 12 other states, the hospitalization rate was highest among people 65 and older. But in all the states that provided data on opioid-related visits to emergency departments, the rate was highest among 25- to 44-year-olds.
"As the report makes clear, over the past decade, opioid abuse has affected both sexes and all age groups. The crisis, however, looks different in different places," Gopal Khanna, director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, noted in an agency news release. Khanna said the findings can help providers, researchers and policymakers understand and address the needs of patients visiting the hospital because of opioids.
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