Trust for America’s Health and Well Being Trust renew their call for urgent action to address the overdose crisis
Vermont Business Magazine According to a National Center for Health Statistics report released the last week of 2021 using official annual mortality data, 91,799 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2020 (to 28.3 per 100,000 people). This is an astounding 31 percent increase over the 2019 rate and the largest year-over-year rate increase on record. Vermont fatalities increased by 38 percent from 133 in 2019 to 190 in 2020 (32.9 per 100,000 people).
Additional data suggests that 2021 drug overdose deaths continued to increase, underscoring the negative impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the health and well-being of Americans.
Additional analysis by Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) and Well Being Trust (WBT) of state-level data show nearly all states and the District of Columbia saw increases between 2019 and 2020, including very large ones for many states.
“The long-term and recent trends in drug overdoses are alarming, and require more attention from policymakers,” said J. Nadine Gracia, M.D., MSCE, President and CEO of Trust for America’s Health. “As we continue to respond to and work to recover from the pandemic, we must take a comprehensive approach that includes policies and programs that reduce overdoses and help Americans suffering from addiction. Policies that address social, economic, and environmental disadvantage, such as childhood trauma, poverty, and discrimination, are needed to help change the trajectory of alcohol, drug, and suicide deaths in the coming decades.”
Over the last five years, TFAH and WBT have released as series of reports on “deaths of despair” called Pain in the Nation: The Drug, Alcohol and Suicides Epidemics and the Need for a National Resilience Strategy, which include data analysis and recommendations for evidence-based policies and programs that federal, state, and local officials. The 2022 Pain in the Nation report will be released in May.
“This comes down to leadership and action. If we don’t move to do something now, these terrible trends will only continue,” said Benjamin F. Miller, PsyD, President of Well Being Trust. “The data are clear— we need to move beyond talk and push for programs and policies that work; and, we need to do so in a way that recognizes that all communities are different and each are going to benefit from a more tailored approach to address this massive problem.”
Key findings by drug-type from the recent NCHS report include:
Additional annual, racial/ethnic, and state-level data can be found below.
Drug Overdose Deaths, 1999-2020
Source: National Vital Statistics System, National Center for Health Statistics
Year
Deaths
Deaths per 100,000 (Age Adjusted)
1999
16,849
6.1
2000
17,415
6.2
2001
19,394
6.8
2002
23,518
8.2
2003
25,785
8.9
2004
27,424
9.4
2005
29,813
10.1
2006
34,425
11.5
2007
36,010
11.9
2008
36,450
11.9
2009
37,004
11.9
2010
38,329
12.3
2011
41,340
13.2
2012
41,502
13.1
2013
43,982
13.8
2014
47,055
14.7
2015
52,404
16.3
2016
63,632
19.8
2017
70,237
21.7
2018
67,367
20.7
2019
70,630
21.6
2020
91,799
28.3
Drug Overdose Deaths by Racial/Ethnic Groups, 2019-2020
Source: National Vital Statistics System, National Center for Health Statistics
Racial/Ethnic Group
2019 Deaths
2019 Deaths Per 100,000 (Age Adjusted)
2020 Deaths
2020 Deaths Per 100,000 (Age Adjusted)
Change in Death Rate, 2019–2020
Non-Hispanic White
50,044
26.2
62,312
33.1
26%
Non-Hispanic Black
10,517
24.8
15,256
35.8
44%
Non-Hispanic American Indian/ Alaska Native
723
30.5
1,009
42.5
39%
Non-Hispanic Asian
679
3.3
935
4.6
39%
Non-Hispanic Native Hawaiian/ Other Pacific Islander
58
9.5
86
13.7
44%
Hispanic
7,473
12.7
10,606
17.6
39%
Drug Overdose Deaths by State, 2019-2020
Source: TFAH and WBT analysis of data from the National Center for Health Statistics
State
2019 Deaths
2019 Deaths Per 100,000 (Age Adjusted)
2020 Deaths
2020 Deaths Per 100,000
(Age adjusted)
Change in Death Rate, 2019–2020
Alabama
768
16.3
1029
22.3
37%
Alaska
132
17.8
160
22.0
24%
Arizona
1907
26.8
2550
35.8
33%
Arkansas
388
13.5
546
19.1
41%
California
6198
15.0
8908
21.8
46%
Colorado
1079
18.0
1492
24.9
38%
Connecticut
1214
34.7
1371
39.1
13%
Delaware
435
48.0
444
47.3
-2%
D.C.
311
43.2
424
58.1
34%
Florida
5268
25.5
7231
35.0
37%
Georgia
1408
13.1
1916
18.0
38%
Hawaii
242
15.9
274
18.3
15%
Idaho
265
15.1
287
15.9
5%
Illinois
2790
21.9
3549
28.1
28%
Indiana
1699
26.6
2321
36.7
38%
Iowa
352
11.5
432
14.3
25%
Kansas
403
14.3
490
17.4
22%
Kentucky
1380
32.5
2083
49.2
51%
Louisiana
1267
28.3
1896
42.7
51%
Maine
371
29.9
496
39.7
33%
Maryland
2369
38.2
2771
44.6
17%
Massachusetts
2210
32.1
2302
33.9
6%
Michigan
2385
24.4
2759
28.6
17%
Minnesota
792
14.2
1050
19.0
34%
Mississippi
394
13.6
586
21.1
55%
Missouri
1583
26.9
1875
32.1
19%
Montana
143
14.1
162
15.6
10%
Nebraska
161
8.7
214
11.3
30%
Nevada
647
20.1
832
26.0
29%
New Hampshire
407
32.0
393
30.3
-5%
New Jersey
2805
31.7
2840
32.1
1%
New Mexico
599
30.2
784
39.0
29%
New York
3617
18.2
4965
25.4
39%
North Carolina
2266
22.3
3146
30.9
39%
North Dakota
82
11.4
114
15.6
37%
Ohio
4251
38.3
5204
47.2
23%
Oklahoma
645
16.7
762
19.4
17%
Oregon
615
14.0
803
18.7
34%
Pennsylvania
4377
35.6
5168
42.4
19%
Rhode Island
307
29.5
397
38.2
29%
South Carolina
1127
22.7
1739
34.9
54%
South Dakota
86
10.5
83
10.3
-2%
Tennessee
2089
31.2
3034
45.6
46%
Texas
3136
10.8
4172
14.1
31%
Utah
571
18.9
622
20.5
8%
Vermont
133
23.8
190
32.9
38%
Virginia
1547
18.3
2240
26.6
45%
Washington
1259
15.8
1733
22.0
39%
West Virginia
870
52.8
1330
81.4
54%
Wisconsin
1201
21.1
1531
27.7
31%
Wyoming
79
14.1
99
17.4
23%
Trust for America’s Health is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that promotes optimal health for every person and community and makes the prevention of illness and injury a national priority. www.tfah.org Twitter:@HealthyAmerica1
Well Being Trust is a national foundation dedicated to advancing the mental, social, and spiritual health of the nation. Created to include participation from organizations across sectors and perspectives, Well Being Trust is committed to innovating and addressing the most critical mental health challenges facing America, and to transforming individual and community well-being. www.wellbeingtrust.org. Twitter: @WellBeingTrust
SOURCE WASHINGTON, Jan. 4, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Trust for America’s Health
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