Men and Women Cite Different Reasons for Misusing Prescription Painkillers

Emotional issues and psychological stress often spark misuse of prescription painkillers among women, whereas men are more likely to cite social and behavioral problems, according to researchers who investigated the underlying causes of opioid painkiller addictions.

Women who misused the drugs also were more likely to tell investigators that they had been abused sexually or physically, and that they had a past history of psychiatric or psychological problems.

HealthDay News reported April 30 that researcher Robert N. Jamison of Harvard's Brigham and Women's Hospital and colleagues studied 662 chronic-pain patients who took opioid painkillers. They found that misuse of the drugs occurred at about the same rate among men and women, but that gender differences showed up when patients were asked about what led them to misuse the painkillers.

The findings appear in the April 27, 2010 issue of the Journal of Pain.