Psychedelics for substance use disorders: are women being addressed? A scoping review

IF 4.4 2区医学 Q1 SUBSTANCE ABUSE

International Journal of Drug Policy Pub Date : 2025-09-02 DOI:10.1016/j.drugpo.2025.104960

Alexandra Wojdyslawski Nigri , Ilana Falcão de Arruda , Catarina Gouveia Ferreira Maia , Luís Fernando Tófoli , Fabio Carezzato

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Abstract

Introduction

Substance use disorders (SUDs) are a prevalent health issue that affects individuals globally. Research is currently being conducted on the potential use of psychedelics as a new approach to treating SUDs. Women have been shown to respond differently than men to SUDs treatments and women-specific approaches have been recommended. This scoping review explores the ways in which studies examining the potential therapeutic effect of psychedelics on SUDs-related outcomes have taken into account women’s specificities.

Methods

On February 19, 2024, we searched four databases—Embase, PubMed, BVS, and PsyNet—for human studies examining the potential benefits of psychedelics for drug misuse. Reference lists of included articles were also screened for additional relevant studies. Both observational and experimental designs were considered. RESULTS: Seventy-five studies were included. Eighteen had sex-balanced samples, while 46 underrepresented females (<45 %). In five studies, the sex of participants was not reported, and nine included no females. Thirteen studies considered sex in their design; five reported sex-disaggregated outcomes. Eleven conducted sex-based analyses of psychedelic-related substance use outcomes, and five did so for other outcomes. Only five acknowledged sex underrepresentation as a study limitation, and none addressed sex or gender in the discussion.

Conclusion

The majority of reviewed studies lacked an investigation into how gender or sex affects subjects’ responses to psychedelics. Given the wide recognition of the role gender and sex play in SUDs treatment, such explorations should be encouraged.

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致幻剂治疗药物使用障碍：是否针对女性？范围审查

物质使用障碍（SUDs）是影响全球个人的普遍健康问题。目前正在研究将致幻剂作为治疗sud的新方法的潜在用途。研究表明，女性对sud治疗的反应与男性不同，因此推荐了针对女性的治疗方法。本综述探讨了在研究致幻剂对suds相关结果的潜在治疗作用时考虑到女性特异性的方法。方法在2024年2月19日，我们检索了embase、PubMed、BVS和psynet四个数据库，检索了关于迷幻药对药物滥用潜在益处的人体研究。还筛选了纳入文章的参考文献列表，以查找其他相关研究。同时考虑了观察和实验设计。结果：纳入75项研究。18个样本性别平衡，而46个未被充分代表的女性（45%）。在五项研究中，没有报告参与者的性别，九项研究中没有女性。13项研究在设计中考虑了性别因素；五个报告了按性别分类的结果。11人对致幻剂相关物质使用结果进行了基于性别的分析，5人对其他结果进行了分析。只有五人承认性别代表性不足是研究的局限性，没有人在讨论中提到性别或社会性别。结论大多数研究缺乏对性别或性别如何影响受试者对致幻剂反应的调查。鉴于广泛认识到性别和性别在sud治疗中的作用，应鼓励这种探索。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

International Journal of Drug Policy SUBSTANCE ABUSE-

CiteScore

7.80

自引率

11.40%

发文量

307

审稿时长

62 days

期刊介绍： The International Journal of Drug Policy provides a forum for the dissemination of current research, reviews, debate, and critical analysis on drug use and drug policy in a global context. It seeks to publish material on the social, political, legal, and health contexts of psychoactive substance use, both licit and illicit. The journal is particularly concerned to explore the effects of drug policy and practice on drug-using behaviour and its health and social consequences. It is the policy of the journal to represent a wide range of material on drug-related matters from around the world.