Medication abuse among women: Women, Medication, and the Blind Spots of the Healthcare System

Drug abuse among women is a silent, largely invisible phenomenon-and precisely for this reason, one of the most underestimated health problems of our time. While addiction is still primarily associated with alcohol or illegal drugs in society, the gradual transition from medically legitimate use to dependence among women often goes unrecognized, is trivialized, or is structurally encouraged. This book paints a comprehensive, scientifically sound, and easy-to-read picture of drug abuse among women. It shows why women are particularly prone to developing problematic consumption patterns through medical prescriptions, what role biological differences, hormonal factors, psychosocial stress, and societal role expectations play, and why female addiction often remains functional, adapted, and invisible for a long time. Based on international studies, gender-specific medical research, and clinical experience, the work analyzes typical substance groups, specific life phases from pregnancy to old age, diagnostic blind spots, and therapeutic and health policy deficits. Particular emphasis is placed on the perspectives of the women affected themselves and on the question of how prevention, care, and medicine can be made more gender-equitable. Bremen University Press has published over 5,500 specialist books in various languages since 2005. January 2026