According to a disturbing new report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of fatal overdoses caused by fentanyl increased between 2016 and 2020.
In the report released Wednesday, it was found that in 2021, 69,943 people will die of an overdose caused by fentanyl at a rate 21.6. This is a significant increase from 2016, where 18,499 people died from an overdose of fentanyl, at a rate 5.7.
According to CNN, The Centers for Disease Control “reports data on overdoses by broad drug categories.”
The drug fentanyl is often grouped together with synthetic opioids such as tramadol or nitazenes. Researchers examined the drugs listed on death certificates of people who overdosed, and highlighted demographic differences, CNN.
Caleb Banta Green, a professor of research at the University of Washington School of Medicine Addictions, Drug & Alcohol Institute, said to CNN that it is important for researchers to know the exact drug which caused an overdose.
Banta Green said, “We must know the exact cause of death so that we can provide them with services to keep them alive.”
This report also found that the number of deaths from other drug overdoses has increased.
The age-adjusted death rate from drug overdoses involving fentanyl has more than tripled during the study period. It went from 5.7 deaths per 100,000 people in 2016 to 21.6% in 2021. This is a result of a 55.0% rise from 2019 (11.2), a 17.4% increase in 2020, and a 21.6% increase in 2021. The CDC reports that the rate of methamphetamine-related drug overdoses has more than quadrupled from 2.1 deaths in 2016 to 96.6 in 2021. From 3.5 deaths per 100,000 people in 2016, to 7.9 in 2021, the rate of cocaine-related drug overdoses has more than quadrupled. Although not statistically significant, the rate of heroin-related drug overdoses decreased from 4.9 to 2.9 deaths in 2021. “The rate of drug-related overdose deaths caused by oxycodone has decreased by 21.0% from 1.9 to 1.5 between 2016 and 2021.”
In 2021, the rate of overdose deaths due to fentanyl was higher than any other drug. The highest rates were for deaths caused by fentanyl (21.6% per 100,000 people), then methamphetamine (9.5%), Cocaine (7.3%), heroin (2.9%), and oxycodone (1.5%). The patterns were the same when stratified according to gender, said the report.
The CDC stated that they “analyzed the literal text of the National Vital Statistics System death data in relation to deaths among U.S. citizens who occurred within the United States.”
The CDC stated that “from 2016 to 2021 age-adjusted death rates for drug overdoses involving fentanyl increased while death rates involving oxycodone declined.” In 2021, age-adjusted rates of death for men were higher than rates for women for all drugs studied. Fentanyl was the most common drug that caused overdose death among people aged 25-64. Although a similar pattern could be observed in those 65 years old and older, there were no differences between rates. Fentanyl is the drug of choice for drug overdoses in the Hispanic and race groups.
CNN stated that “[p]harmaceutical Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, is intended to assist patients with severe pain, including those who have cancer.”
It is typically prescribed as skin patches or lozenges. CNN reported that the CDC has linked the majority of recent U.S. fentanyl overdoses, deaths and harms to illegally manufactured fentanyl.
The article Fentanyl overdoses in the U.S. are on the rise, according to a report first appeared at High Times.