Sammanfattning
Purpose
To study gender differences in prescribing of addictive drugs in Norway and changes over time.
Materials and methods
Data from the Norwegian Prescription Database for the period 2005-2013 was used to study the
prevalence of use of the most frequently used addictive drugs in Norway. The groups studied were:
opioids, benzodiazepines, z-hypnotics and psychostimulants (ADHD-agents). A person with at least
one of these drugs dispensed at a pharmacy in a given year was defined as a user.
Results
A total of 907,744 persons in Norway (18%) used at least one addictive prescription drug in 2013;
533,966 women (21%) and 373,778 men (15%). In 2013, the prevalence of use was higher among
adult women than among adult men and the relative gender difference increased with age. The
relative gender differences were greatest for z hypnotics and anxiolytics benzodiazepines, the
prevalence of use was almost twice as high among women compared to men (Prevalence Ratio 1.97
and 1.86, respectively).
Conclusion
Almost a million persons in Norway used at least one addictive drug in 2013. The proportion of use
was higher in women than in men, and the gender differences were relatively stable in the study
period.