This study applied an innovative statistical approach to examine rates of SUDs by gender and race/ethnicity among individuals ages 18–90. Results by gender are generally consistent with prior research (Grant et al., 2015a; 2015b; Schulte et al., 2009) showing higher rates of substance use and SUDs among men compared to women. In general, rates of SUDs decreased with older ages for both groups, and men had higher rates of AUD, TUD, and CUD up until about eighty years old. However, this pattern was less clear for OUD, for which men and women had similar rates at most ages, and women’s rates were even occasionally higher than men’s. This may be due to different acceptability of opioids versus more commonly used substances. For example, there is higher social acceptance of heavy drinking for men compared to women, which could contribute to men’s higher alcohol use and AUD (Nolen-Hoeksma and Hilt, 2006). Since opioid use is less common and less societally acceptable for both men and women they may have more similar risks for OUD.
