Fentanyl is the deadliest drug in America, CDC confirms
By Nadia Kounang, CNN
Fentanyl
is now the most commonly used drug involved in drug overdoses, according
to a new government report. The latest numbers from the US Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics say that the
rate of drug overdoses involving the synthetic opioid skyrocketed by about 113%
each year from 2013 through 2016. The number of total drug
overdoses jumped 54% each year between 2011 and 2016. In 2016, there were
63,632 drug overdose deaths.
According
to Wednesday's
report, which
analyzed death certificates for drug overdose deaths between 2011 and 2016,
fentanyl was involved in nearly 29% of all overdose deaths in 2016. In 2011,
fentanyl was involved in just 4% of all drug fatalities. At the time, oxycodone
was the most commonly involved drug, representing 13% of all fatal drug
overdoses.
Most common drugs found in overdose deaths in 2016
Rank
|
Referent drug1
|
Number of deaths2
|
Percent of deaths3
|
---|---|---|---|
1 | Fentanyl | 18,335 | 28.8% |
2 | Heroin | 15,961 | 25.1% |
3 | Cocaine | 11,316 | 17.8% |
4 | Methamphetamine | 6,762 | 10.6% |
5 | Alprazolam | 6,209 | 9.8% |
6 | Oxycodone | 6,199 | 9.7% |
7 | Morphine | 5,014 | 7.9% |
8 | Methadone | 3,493 | 5.5% |
9 | Hydrocodone | 3,199 | 5.0% |
10 | Diazepam | 2,022 | 3.2% |
1 Ranks were not tested for statistical significance.
2 Number of drug overdose deaths involving the referent drug.
3 Percentage of drug overdose deaths involving the referent drug.
Note: Drug overdose deaths are identified using International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision underlying cause-of-death codes X40–X44 (unintentional), X60–X64 (suicide), and Y10–Y14 (undetermined). Only deaths with at least one specific drug identified are included in the analysis. The results for 110 deaths with an intent of homicide (X85) are not shown due to small numbers. Deaths may involve other drugs in addition to the referent drug (i.e., the one listed). Deaths involving more than one drug (e.g., a death involving both heroin and cocaine) are counted in both totals.
2 Number of drug overdose deaths involving the referent drug.
3 Percentage of drug overdose deaths involving the referent drug.
Note: Drug overdose deaths are identified using International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision underlying cause-of-death codes X40–X44 (unintentional), X60–X64 (suicide), and Y10–Y14 (undetermined). Only deaths with at least one specific drug identified are included in the analysis. The results for 110 deaths with an intent of homicide (X85) are not shown due to small numbers. Deaths may involve other drugs in addition to the referent drug (i.e., the one listed). Deaths involving more than one drug (e.g., a death involving both heroin and cocaine) are counted in both totals.
Source: CDC
From
2012 to 2015, heroin became the most frequently involved drug in overdose
deaths. In 2011, the number of fatal heroin overdoses was 4,571, or 11% of all
drug fatalities. In 2016, that number more than tripled to 15,961 deaths,
representing a quarter of all drug overdoses that year.
The
authors of the new study also found that most overdoses involved more than one
drug. In 2016, 2 in 5 cocaine-related overdose deaths also involved fentanyl.
Nearly one-third of fentanyl-related overdoses also involved heroin. More than
20% of meth-related fatal overdoses also involved heroin.
In
2016, over 18,000 overdose deaths involved fentanyl, and 16,000 fatalities
were due to heroin.
Although
many experts have pointed to the over prescribing of prescription painkillers as
the root of the US opioid crisis, they say it has evolved, first into a heroin
crisis and now into a fentanyl epidemic.
In
the 2011-16 period examined, the number of drug overdoses involving methadone
has dropped. But Dr. Andrew Kolodny, co-founder of Physicians for Responsible
Opioid Prescribing, cautioned against interpreting these findings as an end to
the prescription drug problem. Kolodny, who was not involved in the study,
pointed to states such as Oklahoma, where overdose deaths from prescription opioids
still outnumber heroin and fentanyl deaths.
"Fentanyl
is so deadly, in the geographic regions where it's been flooding in, deaths
soared like we've never seen before," he said.
Much
of the emphasis of the drug overdose crisis has been on opioids, but there has
also been an increase in the rates and numbers of cocaine- and
methamphetamine-related deaths.
In
the same six-year time frame, cocaine was consistently the second or third most
commonly used drug, and the rate of overdose deaths involving methamphetamines
tripled. Cocaine-related fatalities nearly doubled from 2014 to 2016, jumping
from 5,892 to 11,316 overdose deaths.
The
authors of the study used text analysis to evaluate death certificates for
specific drug mentions. They found that the top 10 drugs in the six-year period
remained the same and belonged to three classes of drugs:
· Opioids
such as fentanyl, heroin, hydrocodone, methadone, morphine and oxycodone
·
Benzodiazepines
such as alprazolam and diazepam
·Stimulants
such as cocaine and methamphetamines
The
study found that illicit drugs like fentanyl and heroin were the leading causes
of unintentional overdoses, and prescription drugs were more likely to be
involved in suicidal overdoses.
No comments:
Post a Comment
please no insults