Synthetic opioids drive increase in overdose deaths

 

Opioid-related drug overdose deaths jumped 28% from 2015 to 2016, with the largest increase coming from synthetic opioids, such as illicitly manufactured fentanyl, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The age-adjusted death rate for opioid overdoses increased from 10.4 per 100,000 population in 2015 to 13.3 per 100,000 in 2016, and the 42,249 opioid deaths in 2016 represented more than 66% of all overdose deaths that year, Puja Seth, PhD, and her associates at the CDC reported in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Increases in 2016 “primarily were driven by deaths involving synthetic opioids” other than methadone, such as fentanyl and tramadol, which saw a doubling of their death rate, from 3.1 per 100,000 in 2015 to 6.2. The death rate from heroin overdoses increased 19.5%, from 4.1 per 100,000 to 4.9, and the prescription-opioid death rate rose 10.6% from 4.7 per 100,000 to 5.2, the investigators said.

Illegally manufactured fentanyl “is now being mixed into counterfeit opioid and benzodiazepine pills, heroin, and cocaine, likely contributing to increases in overdose death rates involving other substances,” they wrote. To illustrate that point, they reported that cocaine overdose deaths increased 52.4% from 2.1 per 100,000 in 2015 to 3.2 in 2016. The death rate for the other drug category covered in the report – psychostimulants with abuse potential – climbed from 1.8 per 100,000 in 2015 to 2.4 in 2016, for an increase of 33.3%, Dr. Seth and her associates noted.

Data presented from 31 states and the District of Columbia show that “no area of the United States is exempt from th

 

is epidemic – we all know a friend, family member, or loved one devastated by opioids,” CDC Principal Deputy Director Anne Schuchat, MD, said in a written statement.

Death rates from overdoses involving synthetic opioids increased in 21 states, with 10 states doubling their rates from 2015 to 2016, and 14 states had significant increases in death rates involving heroin. In D.C., for example, the death rate increased 392% (3.9 per 100,000 to 19.2) from synthetic opioid overdoses and 75% (9.9 per 100,000 to 17.3) for deaths related to heroin, the report showed.

“Effective, synchronized programs to prevent drug overdoses will require coordination of law enforcement, first responders, mental health/substance-abuse providers, public health agencies, and community partners,” Dr. Seth and her associates said.

[email protected]

SOURCE: Seth P et al. MMWR. 2018 Mar 30;67(12):349-58.

 

Opioid-related drug overdose deaths jumped 28% from 2015 to 2016, with the largest increase coming from synthetic opioids, such as illicitly manufactured fentanyl, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The age-adjusted death rate for opioid overdoses increased from 10.4 per 100,000 population in 2015 to 13.3 per 100,000 in 2016, and the 42,249 opioid deaths in 2016 represented more than 66% of all overdose deaths that year, Puja Seth, PhD, and her associates at the CDC reported in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Increases in 2016 “primarily were driven by deaths involving synthetic opioids” other than methadone, such as fentanyl and tramadol, which saw a doubling of their death rate, from 3.1 per 100,000 in 2015 to 6.2. The death rate from heroin overdoses increased 19.5%, from 4.1 per 100,000 to 4.9, and the prescription-opioid death rate rose 10.6% from 4.7 per 100,000 to 5.2, the investigators said.

Illegally manufactured fentanyl “is now being mixed into counterfeit opioid and benzodiazepine pills, heroin, and cocaine, likely contributing to increases in overdose death rates involving other substances,” they wrote. To illustrate that point, they reported that cocaine overdose deaths increased 52.4% from 2.1 per 100,000 in 2015 to 3.2 in 2016. The death rate for the other drug category covered in the report – psychostimulants with abuse potential – climbed from 1.8 per 100,000 in 2015 to 2.4 in 2016, for an increase of 33.3%, Dr. Seth and her associates noted.

Data presented from 31 states and the District of Columbia show that “no area of the United States is exempt from th

 

is epidemic – we all know a friend, family member, or loved one devastated by opioids,” CDC Principal Deputy Director Anne Schuchat, MD, said in a written statement.

Death rates from overdoses involving synthetic opioids increased in 21 states, with 10 states doubling their rates from 2015 to 2016, and 14 states had significant increases in death rates involving heroin. In D.C., for example, the death rate increased 392% (3.9 per 100,000 to 19.2) from synthetic opioid overdoses and 75% (9.9 per 100,000 to 17.3) for deaths related to heroin, the report showed.

“Effective, synchronized programs to prevent drug overdoses will require coordination of law enforcement, first responders, mental health/substance-abuse providers, public health agencies, and community partners,” Dr. Seth and her associates said.

[email protected]

SOURCE: Seth P et al. MMWR. 2018 Mar 30;67(12):349-58.

 

Opioid-related drug overdose deaths jumped 28% from 2015 to 2016, with the largest increase coming from synthetic opioids, such as illicitly manufactured fentanyl, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The age-adjusted death rate for opioid overdoses increased from 10.4 per 100,000 population in 2015 to 13.3 per 100,000 in 2016, and the 42,249 opioid deaths in 2016 represented more than 66% of all overdose deaths that year, Puja Seth, PhD, and her associates at the CDC reported in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Increases in 2016 “primarily were driven by deaths involving synthetic opioids” other than methadone, such as fentanyl and tramadol, which saw a doubling of their death rate, from 3.1 per 100,000 in 2015 to 6.2. The death rate from heroin overdoses increased 19.5%, from 4.1 per 100,000 to 4.9, and the prescription-opioid death rate rose 10.6% from 4.7 per 100,000 to 5.2, the investigators said.

Illegally manufactured fentanyl “is now being mixed into counterfeit opioid and benzodiazepine pills, heroin, and cocaine, likely contributing to increases in overdose death rates involving other substances,” they wrote. To illustrate that point, they reported that cocaine overdose deaths increased 52.4% from 2.1 per 100,000 in 2015 to 3.2 in 2016. The death rate for the other drug category covered in the report – psychostimulants with abuse potential – climbed from 1.8 per 100,000 in 2015 to 2.4 in 2016, for an increase of 33.3%, Dr. Seth and her associates noted.

Data presented from 31 states and the District of Columbia show that “no area of the United States is exempt from th

 

is epidemic – we all know a friend, family member, or loved one devastated by opioids,” CDC Principal Deputy Director Anne Schuchat, MD, said in a written statement.

Death rates from overdoses involving synthetic opioids increased in 21 states, with 10 states doubling their rates from 2015 to 2016, and 14 states had significant increases in death rates involving heroin. In D.C., for example, the death rate increased 392% (3.9 per 100,000 to 19.2) from synthetic opioid overdoses and 75% (9.9 per 100,000 to 17.3) for deaths related to heroin, the report showed.

“Effective, synchronized programs to prevent drug overdoses will require coordination of law enforcement, first responders, mental health/substance-abuse providers, public health agencies, and community partners,” Dr. Seth and her associates said.

[email protected]

SOURCE: Seth P et al. MMWR. 2018 Mar 30;67(12):349-58.