Drug overdose deaths rose in 2019 to nearly 71,000, according to preliminary data presented by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics.
Drug overdose deaths in the US increased last year by a predicted 4.8%, making a new record high, based on CDC’s data.
According to CDC, there were 70,980 projected drug overdose deaths in 2019. This surpassed the previous record of 70,699 deaths set in 2017. Meanwhile, experts warn that the numbers could worsen next year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Over 35 states across the US recorded overdose deaths increase while 13 had declines. South Dakota saw the biggest increase at 54%. Behind were North Dakota at 31% and Alaska at 27%.
Findings showed that fentanyl and other synthetic opioids are used in over half of all projected deaths. Meanwhile, there is also a rise in cocaine and methamphetamine-related deaths.
Drug overdose deaths dropped by 5.1% in 2018, and President Donald Trump took credit for this as an important accomplishment of his administration.
Opioid prescribing has declined since the CDC issued opioid prescribing guidelines in early 2016. With this, doctors would prescribe fewer opioids and insurers give less coverage for opioids. Many experts considered the overprescribing of painkillers as the cause of the US opioid crisis, but claim it then turned into a heroin crisis and a fentanyl crisis.
Alcohol-related deaths
Like drugs, alcohol can also harm the body and lead to death. A new study has revealed that the number alcohol-related deaths annually in the US have more than doubled between 1999 and 2017.
The study, published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, found that the number of alcohol-related deaths in the US has gone up by more than double. The researchers even consider this as an under-count.
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism researchers examined data from death certificates from 1999 to 2017 and determined that the number of people who died from alcohol-related problems has increased by 50.9% from 16.9 to 25.5 per 100,000.
This translates to nearly 1 million deaths during the period. The number of deaths in 1999 was at 35,914 while by 2017, it is at 72,558. The researchers discovered that 2.6% of about 2.8 million deaths in the US in 2017 were alcohol-related.
Research results indicated that around half of the deaths were from liver disease or an overdose from alcohol or alcohol mixed with other drugs. While men died at a higher rate than women, the largest annual increase in deaths was among non-Hispanic white women.
Dr. Elliot Tapper, who has used the same data working on similar studies, agreed with the results of the research. He said: “When multiple researchers come to the same conclusion using different methods, I can tell you for certain these results are valid.”
Dr. Taper, an assistant professor at the University of Michigan, added that the increase in alcohol consumption in the US is more harmful due to the increased prevalence of obesity, metabolic syndrome and diabetes.
He pointed out: “This is true for people who are 18 years old, just like it is true for people who are 65.”
He also said that people are drinking stronger drinks and mentioned: “I live in a college town and I see college kids drinking products that are sweeter, easier to drink and have a higher percentage of alcohol."
