The number of deaths related to opioid pain medications in drugs like Oxycontin and Vicodin has jumped over the past decade. Women saw a more than 400% increase in overdose deaths compared to 265% in men.
Prescription painkillers are responsible for a rapidly increasing number of deaths in women, and many health care providers may not fully understand the risks of prescribing the addictive drugs, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention representatives said Tuesday.
Deaths from prescription opioid painkillers such as oxycodone (used in Oxycontin and Percocet) and hydrocodone (Vicodin) have increased over 400% in women since 1999, according to a new CDC analysis of government data. Men are still more likely to die from prescription drug overdose than women, but the increase in the same time period was not as dramatic, at 265%.
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