Geographic patterns of prescription opioids and opioid overdose deaths in New York State, 2013-2015

AbstractOpioid overdose related deaths have increased dramatically in recent years. Combating the opioid epidemic requires better understanding of the epidemiology of opioid poisoning (OP). To discover trends and patterns of opioid poisoning and the demographic and regional disparities, we analyzed large scale patient visits data in New York State (NYS). Demographic, spatial, temporal and correlation analyses were performed for all OP patients extracted from the claims data in the New York Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System (SPARCS) from 2010 to 2016, along with Decennial US Census and American Community Survey zip code level data. 58,481 patients with at least one OP diagnosis and a valid NYS zip code address were included. Main outcome and measures include OP patient counts and rates per 100,000 population, patient level factors (gender, age, race and ethnicity, residential zip code), and zip code level social demographic factors. The results showed that the OP rate increased by 364.6%, and by 741.5% for the age group > 65 years. There were wide disparities among groups by race and ethnicity on rates and age distributions of OP. Heroin and non-heroin based OP rates demonstrated distinct temporal trends as well as major geospatial variation. The findings highlighted strong demographic disparity of OP patients, evolving patterns and substantial geospatial variation.

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Spatial Epidemiological Analysis and Geographical Information System of Opioid Overdoses in New York State (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.23942 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Anuwat Pengput ◽

Peter Elkin

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

New York ◽

New York State ◽

Geographical Information ◽

Opioid Overdose ◽

Hospital Inpatient ◽

Opioid Use ◽

Public Health Services ◽

Public Health Response ◽

Overdose Deaths

BACKGROUND Opioid analgesics are pain relievers. There are no better drugs than opioids for treating severe pain, however, opioids are the main drugs associated with overdose deaths. OBJECTIVE The study aimed to identify the distribution and clusters of opioid overdoses across New York. METHODS We used the deidentified hospital inpatient discharges datasets (SPARCS) from 2010 – 2015. ICD 9 and ICD 10 codes were used to identify and retrieve opioid overdose patients. We merged and aggregated SPARCS datasets to a geographic shapefile by all counties in New York. RESULTS More than half of the opioid overdose population (n = 235,178) were male (70%). Most patients were 30 - 49 years old (48.3%). Among patients, white non-Hispanics had the highest opioid overdose. Nearly all counties showed increasing rates of overdoses over six years. The high overdose clusters were identified in Niagara, Orleans, Genesee, Madison, Chenango, Delaware, and Sullivan counties (P < 0.05). The highest overdose rates were identified in the Central and Eastern New York regions. CONCLUSIONS The areas of highest overdose deaths among opioid use disorders were not necessarily the areas with the highest usage rates. This tells us that public health services may be lacking in these communities and this represents an opportunity for the New York Department of Public Health to improve our education and public health response in these communities. Opioid use and overdose rates do not always correlate well. This shows that special attention to counties with high overdose/user rates is warranted. The findings could inform health policy decisions at the county and state levels based on the geographic and demographic patterns to prevent and control opioid crises.

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