Male and female MA users admitted to an inpatient drug-treatment facility in Thailand differed with respect to characteristics of their MA use and dependence and with respect to factors influencing the occurrence of MA dependence traits. Reasons for such differences are currently unknown, although both biological and psychosocial factors are likely to be involved. The observed differences could also reflect ascertainment bias, but we hypothesize that this bias does not account for our findings entirely. Future research aimed at replicating these differences in population-based samples will be important. Understanding such differences may shed light not only on important differences in the risk for and phenotypic expression of the disorder in men and women, but also point to important sex-specific approaches to treatment and prevention strategies.
