Heroin-Induced Endocrinopathies in Female Addicts

Abstract

Background: Substance use disorder is a global issue that affects not only the physical and mental health of individuals but also the employment and health of entire countries. Substance addiction is one of the persistent global issues that affects individuals of various ages, socioeconomic backgrounds, areas, levels of education, and countries. Males were believed to be more likely than females to suffer from heroin use disorder. Nonetheless, it was shown that the frequency of heroin use is rising more quickly among women. The goal of this study was assessing several endocrine disorders in female heroin addicts and the socio-demographic characteristics.

Methods: The study was a comparative cross-sectional study done in Al-Abbassya Mental Hospital affiliated to General Secretariat of the Mental Health Hospitals, Psychiatry and Neurology Center and Neuropsychiatry Department, Tanta University. The research was conducted from June 2022 through March 2024 over a period of 22 months.

Results: All of the study's selected addicts (50) were female smokers between the ages of 20 and 30 (mean = 25.46 ± 2.65). Regarding levels of education, there was not a significant difference between the study groups (P=0.071). In terms of marital status, there was a notable difference between the addicts and the control group (P=0.015). Female addicts had a higher divorce rate. Seventy percent of heroin addicts were from urban areas which means that heroin addiction is more common in urbans in comparison to rurales with no significant difference between the study groups. The control group and the addicts' group differed significantly in terms of smoking index (P=0.001), as the addicts' group had a higher mean than the control group. Total testosterone, estradiol, luteinizing hormone, and follicular stimulating hormone levels were significantly lower in heroin addicts than the control groups (P <0.001).
Prolactin levels were significantly higher in heroin users than in the control groups (P <0.001), indicating a substantial difference between the two groups.

Conclusions: Heroin use disorder in females caused significant low total testosterone, estradiol, luteinizing hormone and follicular stimulating hormone levels. Heroin use disorder in females led to a significant elevated level of prolactin.