The opioid epidemic in Maryland is overwhelming the Office of the Medical Examiner, and national statistics showed opioid prescription pain relievers overdose deaths for women are increasing.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said between 1999 and 2010, the percentage increase in the rate of overdose deaths was greater for women, at 151 percent, than for men, at 85 percent. They said the increase for women is happening in spite of numerous recommendations over the past decade for more cautious use of opioid prescription pain relievers (OPR) and efforts to curb abuse and prevent deaths.
The CDC said women are more likely to have chronic pain, be prescribed prescription painkillers, be given higher doses, and use them for longer time periods than men. They said women may become dependent on prescription painkillers more quickly than men.
In Baltimore, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. David R. Fowler said there are 17 medical examiners on staff, and six more are needed to handle the influx of autopsies needed from drug-related deaths. The crunch of performing too many autopsies can jeopardize the quality and have troubling implications for the criminal justice system and public health systems, according to a report by The Baltimore Sun.
The CDC said between 1999 and 2010, OPR overdose deaths increased more than fivefold among women (a total of 47,935 OPR overdose deaths during that period). Abuse of OPR is a particular problem for women of childbearing age, given the risk for neonatal abstinence syndrome as a result of OPR abuse during pregnancy and the potential effects of OPR on an embryo during the first trimester.
