Vital Signs: Prescription Painkiller Overdoses are a Growing Epidemic, Especially Among Women: Injury Center News

Vital Signs: Prescription Painkiller Overdoses are a Growing Epidemic, Especially Among Women: Injury Center News

Vital Signs: Prescription Painkiller Overdoses are a Growing Epidemic, Especially Among Women: Injury Center News

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) sent this bulletin at 07/02/2013 12:30 PM EDT

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The number of prescription painkiller overdose deaths increased fivefold among women between 1999 and 2010, according to this month’s edition of CDC Vital Signs. While men are more likely to die of a prescription painkiller overdose, since 1999 the percentage increase in deaths was greater among women (400% in women compared to 265% in men). More than 6,600 women, or 18 women every day, died from a prescription painkiller overdose in 2010. Read the Vital Signs to learn more about this issue and what can be done to help keep women safe from prescription painkiller overdoses. MMWR: Overdoses of Prescription Opioid Pain Relievers and Other Drugs Among Women – United States, 1999-2010 Fact Sheet: Prescription Painkiller Overdoses - A growing epidemic, especially among women