Drug Overdose Deaths Reach Grim Milestone During Pandemic

This article was originally written for and published in the January 2021 issue of The Synergist, a monthly publication of the American Industrial Hygiene Association. The article addresses the convergence of the COVID-19 and opioid crises, the impact of the opioid crisis on the workplace and workers, and the role that industrial hygienists can play in developing workplace programs to prevent and respond to opioid misuse. While the article is specifically written for industrial hygienists, the review and recommendations will be useful to others who are developing workplace opioid prevention programs. Note that the data presented in this article were current as of January 2021. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s latest available data are for the twelve-month period ending October 2020 and include 88,990 total overdose deaths and 91,862 predicted, when reporting is completed. Source: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/drug-overdose-data.htm (accessed on 15 June 2021).

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“Hidden” cost of the pandemic: drug overdose deaths

BMJ ◽

10.1136/bmj.n1929 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. n1929

Author(s):

Douglas Kamerow

Keyword(s):

Drug Overdose ◽

Hidden Cost ◽

Overdose Deaths

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US drug overdose deaths: a global challenge

The Lancet ◽

10.1016/s0140-6736(16)00211-7 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 387 (10017) ◽

pp. 404 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

The Lancet

Keyword(s):

Drug Overdose ◽

Global Challenge ◽

Overdose Deaths

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Trends in U.S. Drug Overdose Deaths

Annals of Internal Medicine ◽

10.7326/l18-0312 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 169 (5) ◽

pp. 355

Author(s):

Mary E. Cox ◽

Nicole Dzialowy ◽

Lillie Armstrong ◽

Scott Proescholdbell

Keyword(s):

Drug Overdose ◽

Overdose Deaths

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The Economic Underpinnings of the Drug Epidemic

10.31235/osf.io/cdwap ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Nathan Seltzer

Keyword(s):

Labor Market ◽

Labor Markets ◽

Drug Overdose ◽

Manufacturing Sector ◽

State Level ◽

Opioid Overdose ◽

Transformative Change ◽

Drug Deaths ◽

Overdose Deaths ◽

The U.S

U.S. labor markets have experienced transformative change over the past half century. Spurred on by global economic change, robotization, and the decline of labor unions, state labor markets have shifted away from an occupational regime dominated by the production of goods to one characterized by the provision of services. Prior studies have proposed that deterioration of employment opportunities may be associated with the rise of substance use disorders and drug overdose deaths, yet no clear link between changes in labor market dynamics in the U.S. manufacturing sector and drug overdose deaths has been established. Using restricted-use vital registration records between 1999-2017 that comprise over 700,000 drug deaths, I test two questions. First, what is the association between manufacturing decline and drug and opioid overdose mortality rates? Second, how much of the increase in these drug-related outcomes can be accounted for by manufacturing decline? The findings provide strong evidence that restructuring of the U.S. labor market has played an important upstream role in the current drug crisis. Up to 77,000 overdose deaths for men and up to 40,000 overdose deaths for women are attributable to the decline of state-level manufacturing over this nearly two-decade period. These results persist in models that adjust for other social, economic, and policy trends changing at the same time, including the supply of prescription opioids. Critically, the findings signal the value of policy interventions that aim to reduce persistent economic precarity experienced by individuals and communities, especially the economic strain placed upon the middle class.

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Most drug overdose deaths from nonprescription opioids

Southwest Journal of Pulmonary and Critical Care ◽

10.13175/swjpcc145-16 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 13 (6) ◽

pp. 316-316

Author(s):

Richard Robbins ◽

Keyword(s):

Drug Overdose ◽

Overdose Deaths

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Drug Overdose Trends among Black Indiana Residents: 2013-2017

Online Journal of Public Health Informatics ◽

10.5210/ojphi.v11i1.9916 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Raven Helmick

Keyword(s):

Mortality Rate ◽

Drug Overdose ◽

Rate Increase ◽

Mortality Rates ◽

Time Frame ◽

Minority Population ◽

Racial Inequalities ◽

Specific Mortality ◽

Overdose Mortality ◽

Overdose Deaths

ObjectiveTo understand trends in race-specific mortality rates between blacks and whites to discover any racial inequalities that might exist for drug overdose deaths. To delve into the types of drugs that are prominently involved in black drug overdose deaths from 2013-2017 in the state of Indiana.IntroductionBlack Hoosiers, the largest minority population in Indiana, make up almost 10% of the state’s population, and accounted for 8% of the total resident drug overdose deaths from 2013-2017 compared to whites at 91%. However, a closer look at race-specific mortality rates might reveal racial inequalities. Therefore, the purpose of this project was to analyze drug overdose morality rates among white and black Hoosiers to discover possible racial inequalities and to discover trends in drug involvement in overdose deaths among blacks.MethodsDrug overdose deaths that occurred in Indiana between 2013 and 2017 were identified using the underlying and contributing cause of death ICD-10 codes and abstracted from the Indiana State Department of Health’s annual finalized mortality dataset. Race-specific drug overdose death rates were calculated and compared among racial groups. Drug overdose deaths in blacks were examined for trends over time and by the types of drugs involved.ResultsBetween 2013 and 2017, drug overdose mortality rates for whites increased from 17.05 to 27.28 per 100,000. Blacks saw a higher rate increase during this same time frame: from 10.74 to 30.62 per 100,000, surpassing the mortality rate of whites by the end of 2017. Drug overdose deaths in blacks increased 197% from 2013-2017 and drug specific mortality rate increases were seen across all drug category’s. Opioids, which were involved in 61% of the 2017 drug overdose deaths among blacks, had a rate increase from 3.05 to 18.62 per 100,000 between 2013 and 2017. Drug specific overdose mortality rate increases were also seen for overdoses involving cocaine (1.76 to 10.62 per 100,000), benzodiazepines (0.32 to 3.08 per 100,000), and psychostimulants other than cocaine (0.16 to 1.69 per 100,000) such as amphetamines.ConclusionsWhile white Hoosiers had higher drug overdose mortality rates between 2013 and 2016, black Hoosiers had a greater mortality rate increase and surpassed the mortality rate in whites in 2017. Opioids, the most frequently involved substance in overdose deaths among blacks from 2013-2017, showed increasing rates during this time period. However, increases in drug specific overdose mortality rates for cocaine, benzodiazepines, and psychostimulants other than cocaine also call for public health attention. These results promote the inclusion of minority health experts in drug overdose prevention efforts and issue a call for future prevention efforts to be targeted toward the state’s largest minority population.

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