More than 107,600 Americans died from drug overdoses last year, the highest annual loss of life toll on record, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention mentioned Wednesday.
Overdose deaths elevated 15 p.c in 2021, up from an estimated 93,655 fatalities the year prior, in accordance with a report from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), which collects information on a variety of well being matters, together with drug use.
While the entire variety of deaths reached record highs, the rise appeared to gradual in comparison with the change seen from 2019 to 2020, when overdose deaths rose 30 p.c, in accordance with the report.
It’s nonetheless too early to say whether or not that slowdown will maintain, mentioned Farida Ahmad, a scientist on the well being statistics middle. The company’s newest report is taken into account provisional, which means the information is incomplete and topic to alter.
Even if the rise in overdose deaths is smaller in comparison with last year, the 2021 whole remains to be an enormous quantity, Ahmad mentioned.
The information helps illustrate one of many penalties of the pandemic, which has seen an uptick in substance abuse amid widespread unemployment and extra Americans reporting psychological well being points.
Overdose-related deaths had been already growing earlier than the pandemic, however there was “clearly a very sharp uptick during the pandemic,” mentioned Joseph Friedman, an dependancy researcher on the University of California, Los Angeles. He revealed analysis in April that discovered drug overdose deaths amongst youngsters rose sharply over the last two years.
According to the NCHS report, fentanyl, a strong artificial opioid, was concerned in probably the most overdose deaths in 2021: 71,238.
Methamphetamine was implicated in 32,856 overdose deaths, cocaine in 24,538 deaths, and prescription ache medicines in 13,503 deaths.
Friedman mentioned that illicitly manufactured fentanyl, specifically, is a large drawback within the U.S., as it may be packaged as tablets.
This month, Ohio State University officers warned of “fake Adderall” tablets laced with fentanyl following the loss of life of a pupil.
Ahmad agreed that fentanyl is a large drawback, however added that different medication, like methamphetamines, are additionally concerned in a lot of deaths, significantly in Western states.
The greatest proportion improve in overdose deaths in 2021 was in Alaska, the place deaths had been up 75.3 p.c in comparison with the earlier year, in accordance with the report.
To fight the overdose deaths, Friedman mentioned the U.S. ought to put money into hurt discount and therapy applications for individuals with substance abuse issues.
The drawback impacts some teams greater than others — Native Americans probably the most, whereas the overdose loss of life price for Black individuals has overtaken whites, he mentioned.
