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After a spike during the Covid-19 pandemic, preliminary data show that overdose deaths in the United States will decline for the first time in five years in 2023.
In the year By 2023, 107,500 people will die from drug overdoses Data According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics – 3,500 fewer than in 2022.
Last year's decline was the first since 2018, but the 3 percent decline was significantly less than the increases in overdose deaths in recent years. Death from overdose Sharp It increased 30 percent between 2019 and 2020 and another 15 percent between 2020 and 2021, according to CDC data.
Initial data may change as death certificates are reviewed and records are reviewed, but estimates indicate that, despite the decline, overdose deaths in 2023 will still be nearly double what they were five years ago, according to CDC data.
“It's a promising trend in some ways,” said Dr. Kathryn Keyes, a professor at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, whose research focuses on the epidemiology of substance use. “We know that this drug epidemic is dynamic and changing rapidly, so any time it's leveled off or slowed down a bit, that's promising. It's certainly not that we should put our foot down in the prevention of overdose.
The US Department of Health and Human Services launched a coordinated national effort Strategy Two years ago to prevent overdose.
“This progress over the past 12 months should make us want to renew our efforts, knowing that our strategies are making a difference,” CDC chief medical officer Dr. Deb Hurry said in a statement. Incredibly prone to drug overdoses.
“Our thoughts are with those who have lost loved ones and are struggling with addiction, or who know someone who is. Our country is committed to ending this epidemic and preventing unnecessary death and suffering,” she said.
Fentanyl has been driving recent overdose deaths, with synthetic opioids accounting for more than two-thirds of overdose deaths. These highly potent narcotics continue to play an outsized role. They are involved in nearly 70% of overdose deaths by 2023. However, there were about 1,500 fewer deaths related to fentanyl and other synthetic opioids in 2023 than in 2022.
Fentanyl, which is 50 times more lethal than heroin, still poses a threat. In one distribution indicator, a Research Law enforcement has seen an increase in illegal fentanyl seizures in recent years, he announced Monday.
More than 115 million pills containing illegal fentanyl were seized by law enforcement in 2023, up from 71 million in 2022 and just under 50,000 in 2017.
“Fentanyl continues to permeate the drug supply in communities across the United States and it's a very dangerous time to use the drug, even occasionally,” said Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, in a statement. She was not directly involved in the new study, but the study was supported by a federal agency. “Illicit pills are made to look like real prescription pills, but they can contain fentanyl. It's important for people to know that any pill that is given to someone by a friend, purchased through social media, or received from any source outside of a pharmacy can be fatal — even after just one dose.” If so.
The death toll from fentanyl is “incredibly high,” Keyes said. But more promising trends reflect significant and multifaceted efforts from several sectors, she said, including the use of opioid use disorder treatments, access to naloxone and other harm reduction programs, and reductions in opioid prescribing.
“I think this is a real success story for public health,” she said.
According to preliminary data from the CDC, while overdose deaths involving opioids have declined, those involving cocaine and psychostimulants such as methamphetamine have increased.
In the year There will be more than 36,000 psycho-stimulant-related deaths in 2023, a 2 percent increase over the previous year. And cocaine deaths rose by 5%, to nearly 30,000 deaths. In the year A third of all deaths by 2023 involve psychoactive drugs, and cocaine is involved in more than a quarter.
Much of this increase can be attributed to the spread of fentanyl throughout the drug supply, Keyes said. “We know that stimulants are especially lethal when mixed with opioids,” she said. But expanded surveillance can help those working to address the problem of overdose understand the rapidly changing epidemiology and adjust their efforts in real time.
Substantial disparities remain in overdose deaths, including state-level differences; It shows “prominent” increases in some western states, such as Washington and Oregon, where overdose deaths rise by at least 27 percent each year. Other states, including Nebraska, Kansas, Indiana and Maine, saw overdose deaths drop by at least 15 percent.
“State-to-state differences indicate the need for continued expansion of these efforts,” Keyes said. But I think the trends you see nationally are indicative of how it works. We can fight the opioid epidemic. This is not inevitable.
For many state and local governments, money from opioid settlements has become a “tool” to increase overdose prevention efforts and treatment and recovery support, Dr. Marcus Pelesia, chief medical officer of the State and Territory Health Association, said in a statement.
“Going forward, authorities will continue to prioritize investments in harm reduction, prevention and healthy social communities. The problem of excessive drinking is very affected,” he said. “State and local health agencies will also continue to collaborate with partners to develop a comprehensive response to this complex public health issue. Finally, jurisdictions will continue to monitor and prepare to respond to changes in overdose rates and threats to drug supply.
The latest Surveys They suggest that drug use among teenagers in the US is relatively low and on the rise. But overdose deaths are on the rise in this age group and Millions Adults and adolescents have substance abuse problems.
“Studies show that delaying drug use among young people within one year can reduce the likelihood of drug addiction later in life. We could be watching this game in real time,” Volkow said. “This trend is reassuring. However, it is critical to continue to educate youth openly and honestly about the dangers and harms of drug use, reminding them that illegal pills and other substances can contain the deadly fentanyl.