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

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.