Role of gender differences in mechanisms of opium addiction formation

Objective: to analyze causes and mechanisms of development of opium addiction with account for gender differences. Material: In the Republican Narcological Center between 2010 and 2015 131 patients with opium addiction were treated. The main group included 66 female patients aged 18-56 years. Group of comparison included 65 males aged 23-50 years. Results: The correlation analysis of causes and mechanisms of opium addiction formation with account for gender differences revealed reliable correlation (r=0.31; р=0.003) between gender and family history, age of alcohol consumption and gender (r=0.23; р=0.02). The reliably larger number of women used drug for the first time in the company of drug addicted friends, drug addicted husband or cohabitant. Significant factors were that reliably larger number of women began the first use of opiates with heroin which is characterized by the highest narcogenicity among opiates. Many patients before opium addiction formation had signs of deviant behavior. Absence of deviant behavior was reliably more often observed in men (75.4% of males and 57.6% of females; OR 2.26; 95% CI 1.07-4.76; р=0.05) in comparison with women. Before drug addiction formation more than a half of female probands did not work whereas almost all men were engaged in various areas of activities.