NIH Podcast Shines Light on Prescription Drug Abuse in Women

A new podcast developed by the National Institutes of Health’s Office of Research on Women’s Health explores the effects of prescription drug abuse among women.

The NIH's Office of Research on Women’s Health podcast, "Pinn Point on Women’s Health," provides updates on women’s health research, and is hosted by Vivian W. Pinn, M.D., director of NIH’s Office of Research on Women’s Health. This month, Dr. Pinn interviewed Nora Volkow, M.D., director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).

Dr. Volkow notes that it is important to understand the sex and gender-based differences regarding drug abuse in order to better target prevention and treatment approaches.

"In general, males tend to take more drugs than females. The exception is the period of time between 12 and 17 years of age. There, we see a higher rate of abuse of most drugs, including psychotherapeutics, among girls than among boys," Dr. Volkow said.

Drugs of abuse also include pain medications that contain opiates, such as Vicodin or OxyContin, as well as stimulant medications, which are used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Dr. Volkow noted that adolescent girls have almost 60 to 70 percent higher rates of abuse of these substances than adolescent boys.

"Adolescents and young adults take stimulant medications to improve cognitive performance, to study for an exam, or to prepare for something that requires a deadline involving intense work," Dr. Volkow said. In addition, girls take stimulants in order to lose weight. Stimulant medications are anorexigenic; meaning, they reduce feelings of hunger.

To hear Dr. Pinn’s podcasts, visit the Office of Research on Women's Health website and click on "Prescription Drug Abuse" under Podcasts. Information on how to use podcasts, is available at http://videocast.nih.gov/faq/podcast/default.asp.