In states that monitored physicians’ prescribing of opioids and other Schedule II drugs, deaths due to drug poisoning were lower. Alpert and colleagues (2019) argue that Purdue viewed as a barrier to entry state requirements that physicians prescribe opioids on triplicate forms that could be used to monitor possible fraud and overprescribing. They show that OxyContin distribution was 2.5 times greater in states without versus those with this requirement, and that as a result, drug overdose deaths increased more rapidly in the former compared with the latter states.
Over 3 million annual deaths due to alcohol and drug use, majority among men
Given large and widening geographic disparities in drug- and alcohol-related mortality rates, the inclusion of geographic identifiers on the publicly accessible versions of national substance use and mental health surveillance surveys is urgently needed. The NSDUH is the only national annual surveillance survey designed explicitly to capture detailed information from individuals about both substance use behaviors and mental health conditions. Because of data privacy concerns, however, the publicly accessible version of these data includes no geographic identifiers. Researchers can apply to access the restricted-use data, which include state, county, and lower-level geographic identifiers, but the application and approval process is time-intensive, and the only way to access the data upon approval is through a Federal Statistical Research Data Center.
New Mexico Alcohol Abuse Statistics
In both 2022 and 2023, the age-adjusted rate of drug overdose deaths was highest for American Indian and Alaska Native people and lowest among Asian people. Despite decreases in the overall rate, the rate only significantly decreased for White people. Rate changes for American Indian and Alaska Native, Asian, and Hispanic people were not significant, and rates significantly increased for Black and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander people. The age-adjusted rate of drug overdose deaths declined 4.0% between 2022 and 2023, which follows a nonsignificant increase between 2021 and 2022 (1). For 2022, the alcohol-induced mortality rate decreased by six percent to 13.5 deaths per 100,000 people, the first decrease in the rate after more than a decade of increases, but death rates for drug overdose and suicide remained unchanged. More comprehensive identification of contributing causes of death on death Halfway house certificates is also important (see Chapter 5 and Recommendation 5-1).
- The underlying cause of death is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO, 2011, p. 31) as “the disease or injury which initiated the train of morbid events leading directly to death, or the circumstances of the accident or violence which produced the fatal injury.” In this chapter, “other drugs” refers to both illicit and prescription drugs.
- However, the counties with the highest drug overdose rates tended to be characterized by a dual economy in which some workers had good high-skilled and decent-paying jobs, and others had low-skilled and low-paying jobs.
- Impaired driving is a leading cause of all traffic-related deaths in the United States.
- Overdoses involving synthetic opioids (fentanyl, for example) and stimulants (cocaine and methamphetamine, for example) have also risen in the past few years (1).
- Drug poisoning deaths have been rising for almost three decades, primarily among non-Hispanic Whites (Whites) but also among non-Hispanic Blacks (Blacks) and Hispanics.
- The chart shows direct death rates (not including suicide deaths) from alcohol use disorders across the world.
Implications for Public Health Practice
Pharmaceutical companies, led by Purdue and its multibillion dollar blockbuster drug OxyContin, along with distributors, pharmacies, pill mills, and some physicians, saturated the United States with prescription opioids. Muennig and colleagues (2018) make the case for a longer-term trend of worsening psychological health in the United States since the early 1980s that spanned demographic groups. Using data from the General Social Survey 1983–2012, the authors examined trends in measures of psychological well-being in the United States, including self-reported happiness and trust in others, whether people tended to be fair, difference between drugs and alcohol whether parents had a better standard of living, and frequency of sex. Compared with similar data from Australia on the happiness and trust measures, they found a greater decline in overall well-being in the United States, especially toward the late 1980s. They similarly noted declines in subjective ratings of physical and mental health from the BRFSS. Based on their exploratory analysis and the prevailing literature, they concluded that there has been a long-term trend of increasing mistrust and loneliness and worsening mental and physical health across all age, racial/ethnic, and SES groups (Muennig et al., 2018).
- Age-standardized alcohol-attributable death rates among females increased from 22.7 per 100,000 population during 2016–2017 to 23.6 during 2018–2019, and to 29.4 during 2020–2021.
- The figure does not present trends prior to 1999 because of the lack of comparability in drug-specific ICD codes pre- versus post-1999.
- U.S. death certificates, which are compiled and made available to researchers by the National Center for Health Statistics, include decedents’ educational attainment.
- Moreover, scales of psychological well-being, which Cherlin argued were better measures of despair, showed weak and insignificant SES gradients.
High and Rising Mortality Rates Among Working-Age Adults.
The opioid crisis has received significant media attention, leading many to perceive drug abuse as a more pressing threat. This underscores the importance of addressing both substance abuses in public health initiatives effectively. Healthcare providers play a critical role in identifying at-risk individuals early on through routine screenings for substance use disorders. By integrating discussions about substance use into regular medical check-ups or mental health assessments, providers can offer timely interventions that may prevent long-term issues related to both alcohol and drugs. Drug-related deaths have surged over recent years due to various factors, including the opioid epidemic.
Drug Overdose Death Statistics
Expanding access to evidence-based treatment for substance use disorders—including medications for opioid use disorder such as buprenorphine and methadone—is important, in addition to building more community-driven interventions and promoting education and early intervention to prevent substance use disorders before they begin. One critical aspect of alcohol-related fatalities is their prevalence among specific demographics. Research shows that middle-aged adults, particularly men aged 45-54, experience the highest rates of alcohol-related deaths. This demographic shift highlights changing drinking patterns and social norms surrounding alcohol consumption. While both alcohol and drugs can lead to severe health issues and fatalities, the statistics surrounding these substances reveal stark differences in their impact. Understanding the dynamics of alcohol-related deaths vs drug-related deaths is essential for developing effective prevention and treatment strategies.
- Despite substantial research on biological mechanisms, the medical model has some limitations (Koob and Volkow, 2010; Volkow and Koob, 2015).
- Increases in substance-related mortality, while affecting all demographic groups and places, have been larger in some groups and places than others.
- “I think what we’re seeing here is in line with what provincial level data has been telling us,” added Naimi.
- For example, sociologist Victor Tan Chen (2015) interviewed laid-off automotive workers after the General Motors and Ford plant closures of the Great Recession.
- Some evidence suggests that there have been increases in physical pain over the past several decades.
Reported drug use among adolescents continued to hold below pre-pandemic levels in 2023
Scholars have offered a number of possible demand-related explanations for the surge in drug addiction and overdose seen over the past three decades and its particular impact on certain subpopulations and geographic areas. Some of these explanations focus on factors proximate to individuals—physical pain, mental illness, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), and psychological distress or despair—and others on factors more structural and distal—macro-level economic and social changes. This section first provides an overview of conceptual models of addictive behaviors and then summarizes the evidence for these explanations.
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“ More than one-third of the overdose deaths involving cocaine also mentioned heroin (34%). “Table D shows the most frequent concomitant drug mentions for each of the top 10 drugs involved in drug overdose deaths in 2016. “ West Virginia (57.8 per 100,000), Ohio (46.3), Pennsylvania (44.3), and the District of Columbia (44.0) had the highest age-adjusted drug overdose death rates in 2017.