By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, May 3, 2023 (HealthDay News) — Overdose deaths in the United States linked to the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl soared 279% between 2016 and 2021, health officials reported Wednesday.
With the nation reeling from continued drug overdose deaths, the researchers sought to identify trends in drug-related deaths involving the five most commonly involved opioid and stimulant drugs: fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine and oxycodone.
In just five years, deaths related to fentanyl, the most commonly implicated substance, rose from 6 per 100,000 people to 22 per 100,000, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“This continues to be a public health issue in the United States that we need to continue to monitor,” said lead researcher Merianne Rose Spencer, a health statistician with CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics.
The rate of methamphetamine and cocaine overdose deaths also increased during that period, while deaths from heroin and oxycodone fell, Spencer’s team found.
“The report, like many others in recent years, highlights the devastation fentanyl is wreaking on our country as lives lost mount,” said Pat Aussem, associate vice president of clinical consumer content development at Partnership to End. Addiction.
Among youth, fentanyl and methamphetamine were the deadliest. Death rates were highest among young adults ages 25 to 44, with men being affected more than women. All races were involved, but African Americans and Native Americans were especially affected.
These horrifying overdose deaths are due to a number of factors, including the misuse of prescription opioid pain relievers and the use of heroin and fentanyl, often in combination with other substances, said Aussem, who was not involved in the study.
“Cocaine, methamphetamine, ecstasy and counterfeit pills resembling Adderall, Xanax and Percocet or other pain relievers can be mixed with fentanyl, resulting in an overdose if the person using the substance cannot tolerate it,” he said.
“Increasingly, fentanyl is being combined with xylazine, an animal tranquilizer known as ‘tranq,’ which can increase the risk of overdose and death,” Aussem added.
For the study, the CDC researchers used data from the National Vital Statistics System. Among the other findings:
- Fentanyl was the leading cause of overdose death among all ethnic and racial groups.
- The rate of heroin-related drug overdose deaths fell by nearly 41%, although that was not considered significant.
- The rate of deaths from oxycodone overdose decreased by 21%.
Spencer said that because the CDC team used data from death certificates, it’s not possible to show whether the heroin, cocaine, oxycodone and methamphetamine overdose deaths also involved fentanyl.
Spencer believes the increase in fentanyl-related overdose deaths is due to the increasing supply of the drug flooding the country. This trend is unlikely to reverse anytime soon, as overdose deaths continue to rise, he noted.
The CDC’s latest count is more than 107,000 people in the 12-month period ending August 2022, Aussem said. “This is equivalent to a plane with almost 300 people on board crashing every day. We need a focused and coordinated response that encompasses evidence-based care and harm reduction strategies that we know work,” she added.
Aussem said that the difficulty in accessing addiction treatment and medical care contributes to drug overdose deaths, as do social and economic factors, such as poverty and unemployment and the stigma surrounding addiction.
What is needed now?
“To address overdose death rates in the United States, a multi-pronged approach is needed, including increased screening for mental health and substance use health problems with increased access to quality addiction treatment,” he said. Aussem.
In addition, health professionals need more training and must be more willing to treat people with substance use disorders, he noted.
Aussem added that harm reduction services are essential. These should include fentanyl and xylazine test strips, needle and syringe exchange programs, and overdose prevention education. Opioid addiction drugs, such as naloxone, should also become more widely available.
“There is also a need to reduce the stigma surrounding substance use disorders so that people speak up about their concerns and seek treatment,” he said. “In addition, educating and equipping families to respond can lead to better outcomes. They are often the first to witness the problem and can intervene to encourage safer use or connection to treatment.”
Using test strips that identify fentanyl before someone takes a drug that might be contaminated can be helpful, Aussem said.
“Some states treat fentanyl test strips as drug paraphernalia, but they can be useful in saving lives,” he said. “Xylazine test strips will also be needed as xylazine further penetrates the country’s drug supply.”
The wide availability of naloxone nasal spray (Narcan) is another strategy that may help prevent overdose deaths, Aussem said.
“He [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] has approved over-the-counter naloxone so anyone can get it and learn how to use it,” he said. Collect.”
Because many people overdose when they are alone, having a phone app like Canary or access to services like the Never Use Alone overdose prevention hotline (1-800-484-3731) can provide help when help is needed. critically, Aussem added.
Safe injection centers like those in New York City reduce the risks of overdoses and also reduce the risks of transmission of diseases such as HIV and hepatitis, he said.
“Center staff also have the opportunity to build relationships, offer education and other often-needed resources,” Aussem said, which can lead to safer substance use practices and connection to treatment.
He report was released May 3 by CDC’s National Vital Statistics System.
More information
For more information on fentanyl, see the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
SOURCES: Merianne Rose Spencer, MPH, health statistician, National Center for Health Statistics, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Pat Aussem, LPC, associate vice president, Clinical Consumer Content Development, Association to End Addiction; Report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Estimates of Drug Overdose Deaths Involving Fentanyl, Methamphetamine, Cocaine, Heroin, and Oxycodone: United States, 2021May 3, 2023
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