Opioid use disorder
United States

The U.S. epidemic in the 2000s is related to a number of factors. Rates of opioid use and dependency vary by age, sex, race, and socioeconomic status. With respect to race, the discrepancy in deaths is thought to be due to an interplay between physician prescribing and lack of access to healthcare and certain prescription drugs. Men are at higher risk for opioid use and dependency than women, and men also account for more opioid overdoses than women, although this gap is closing. Women are more likely to be prescribed pain relievers, be given higher doses, use them for longer durations, and become dependent upon them faster.
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