@article{ref1,
title="Gender disparity in addiction: an Italian epidemiological sketch",
journal="Annali dell'Istituto superiore di sanità",
year="2016",
author="Minutillo, Adele and Pacifici, Roberta and Scaravelli, Giulia and De Luca, Roberto and Palmi, Ilaria and Mortali, Claudia and Mastrobattista, Luisa and Berretta, Paolo",
volume="52",
number="2",
pages="176-183",
abstract="INTRODUCTION: Gender disparity in different fields of addiction such as tobacco smoking, alcohol use, drugs of abuse consumption and doping practice has been investigated in Italian population. <br><br>METHODS: We used the surveys and studies carried out for the above reported issues in recent years as revised by the &quot;National Observatory on Tobacco smoke, Drugs of abuse, Alcohol and Doping&quot; at Istituto Superiore di Sanità. <br><br>RESULTS: Concerning tobacco habit, the trend of smoking women has been in constant decrease from a 19.7% in 2010 to a 16.9% in 2015, differently from men who passed from a 23.9% in 2010 to a 25.1% in 2015 with a slight increase in the habit. With respect to alcohol, in the last five years an increasing trend of consumption has been observed in 18-24 years old women, with 53% drinking women in the age range of 18-19 years overcoming the 50.4% general female population. Generally speaking, a one to four ratio can be underlined in the percentage of elderly women with a risky alcohol consumption with respect to men, while in case of adolescents and young adults gender disparity is not so pronounced. Drug abuse still remains a prevalent male phenomenon. However, an increase in cannabis users for both genders has been reported with a prevalence of &quot;once in the life&quot; around 20%, although more pronounced in females (+2.66 percentage points for females vs +0.93 percentage points in male). With respect to cocaine, the second most consumed drug, a reduction in consumption has been recently observed mainly in female population (-42.1%) than in men one (-27.5%). Finally, there are significant gender differences in doping attitude and/or in doping profiling. First of all, males seem to be more exposed to doping than females The prohibited substances most frequently used by females athletes are &quot;Diuretics and Masking Agents&quot; (38.3% positive female vs 14% males) compared to males athletes who use mostly anabolic agents (20.1% males vs 11.2% females). <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: Results presented for the different fields of addiction show that a gender disparity is apparent and that females are less prone in having an addiction behaviour, although the young generation seems to increase that tendency.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0021-2571",
doi="10.4415/ANN_16_02_08",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.4415/ANN_16_02_08"
}