While men die of drug overdoses much more often than women, their female counterparts are catching up and overdosing in record numbers, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) weekly Morbidity and Mortality Report.
From 1999 to 2017 the death rate among women aged 30 to 64 increased by 260%, the CDC said, from 6.7 deaths per 100,000 population, or a total of 4,314 drug overdose deaths in 1999 to 24.3 per 100,000, or a total of 18,110 deaths, in 2017.
Drastic increases are reported among not only prescription painkillers but also illegal opioids including fentanyl and heroin, ABC News noted.
“From 1999 to 2017, drug overdose death rates increased by approximately 200% among women aged 35–39 and 45–49 years, 350% among those aged 30–34 and 50–54 years, and nearly 500% among those aged 55–64 years,” the CDC said.