美國女性濫用處方止痛藥死亡案例迅速增加

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says drug overdoses from prescription painkillers is a growing epidemic, especially among women.

The CDC says 48,000 women died from prescription painkiller overdoses from 1999 to 2010. It says overdose deaths among women have increased 400% since 1999, compared to 265% among men.

The CDC says that while men are still more likely to die of prescription painkiller overdoses, the gap between men and women is closing. It says the rate in deaths relates to the increased prescribing of painkillers in the United States in the past decade.

The CDC is urging health care providers to recognize that women are more at risk of painkiller overdose when prescribing the medicines.

The painkillers included in the CDC report include common opioid or narcotic pain relievers, such as hydrocodone, oxycodone, oxymorphone and methadone.美國疾病控制與預防中心（CDC）說，處方止痛藥的濫用正在成爲一種日益嚴重的流行病，女性濫用這種藥物的現象尤其嚴重。

美國疾控中心說，從1999年到2010年，有48000名女性死於處方止痛藥的濫用。該中心說，女性因濫用藥物而造成死亡的案例從1999年以來增長了400%，相比之下，男性增加了265%。

美國疾控中心說，雖然男性死於濫用處方止痛藥的機率仍然大於女性，但男女之間在這方面的差距正在縮小。該中心說，死亡率的增加與過去十年來美國人增加使用止痛藥處方有着相應的關係。

美國疾控中心敦促醫療人員在開處方藥時認識到女性更有可能濫用止痛藥的風險。

美國疾控中心的報告列舉的止痛藥物包括常用的鴉片類或麻醉型止痛藥，比如氫可酮（hydrocodone）、羥考酮（oxycodone）、羥嗎啡酮（oxymorphone）和美沙酮（methadone）。