Opioid Addiction Relapse May Be Different for Men, Women

NOT THE SAME? –

March 4, 2021 – For women, the greatest risk factors for opioid relapse were depression, more severe withdrawal and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

For men, the strongest risk factors included use of multiple substances and a history of conduct disorder. That’s a behavior problem in which rules or basic rights of others are violated.

For both women and men, younger age was also a relapse risk, the findings showed.

The University of Southern California (USC) study was published online recently in the journal Addiction. The researchers said their findings may point the way to gender-targeted treatments.

“These results suggest that women would particularly benefit from treatments that aggressively address withdrawal symptoms with appropriate medications and cognitive behavioral approaches,” said lead author Jordan Davis. He’s associate director of the USC Center for Artificial Intelligence in Society, in Los Angeles.

“In contrast, men would likely benefit most from cognitive behavioral and mutual-help interventions that directly target substance use behaviors and support the development of pro-social behaviors,” Davis added in a university news release.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States has seen a spike in fatal drug overdoses, with two-thirds involving opioids. Over a 12-month period, the nation recorded 81,000 overdose deaths, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.