The devastating effects of a pandemic on death from drug overdose in the United States have had the greatest impact on people of color, with the proportion of young blacks rising the most sharply. Federal report It was released on Tuesday and analyzed overdose data by race, age, and income.
Overall, deaths from overdose increased by 30% between 2019 and 2020, a report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Black mortality increased by 44%, about twice the number of deaths in whites (22%) or Hispanics (21%). The death toll of Native Americans and Alaska Natives increased by 39%.
By 2020, black deaths will be higher than other racial or ethnic groups, with 31 whites, 36 American Indians and Aboriginals, and 21 Hispanics, measured as part of the population. There were 39 people per 100,000 people. ..
“The disproportionate increase in mortality due to overdose between blacks and Native Americans and Alaska Natives may be partly due to unequal access to substance-based treatments and health inequality such as treatment bias. There is a possibility, “said Dr. Debra Houri, Deputy Chief Deputy Director of the CDC.
The racial breakdown was based on data from Washington, DC, and 25 states that completed the analysis. This survey contains data from several states. Increased mortality from overdose, Georgia, Kentucky, Maine, etc., but not from other high rates such as Florida, New York, Michigan. CDC researchers nevertheless said the trends seen in this data reflect statistical racial breakouts across the country.
Nationally, the number of deaths from overdose has continued to increase since 2020, but the proportion has slowed slightly.
Taking age into account, the impact on different races was even more pronounced. In 2020, overdose mortality in men over the age of 65 was nearly seven times higher in black men than in white men. For blacks between the ages of 15 and 24, overdose mortality increased by 86% between 2019 and 2020.
The authors of the study stated that death was primarily caused by illegally produced fentanyl, and in some cases by a combination of opioids with other drugs such as methamphetamine and cocaine.
The pandemic exacerbated the spiral, the authors said. Being isolated from social welfare, peers, families and treatment centers, young and old, narcotics have become distracting and comforting, not to mention the loss of income for many.
The results showed that it severely reduced racial disparities in access to treatments for substance abuse. Data show that treatment for all who died was sparse, but the proportion of people treated for substance abuse was the lowest among blacks (8.3%), about half of whites who died later in search of treatment. was.
Income inequality also deepened the gap, the report said.
Perhaps surprisingly, the report states that overdose mortality was generally higher in counties with more treatment services and mental health care providers. Again, the impact depends on race. For example, among Native Americans and Alaska Natives and blacks, the proportion of counties with at least one opioid treatment program in 2020 was more than double that of counties without such services.
In counties with relatively more treatment options than in other counties, overdose mortality from 2019 to 2020 increased by 49% in blacks, compared to 19% in whites.
“Just because services are available does not mean they are actually available,” said Mbabazi Kariisa, lead author of the report and health scientist in the CDC’s overdose prevention department. , Said that transportation and insurance are limited. Options can be a problem. In addition, fear of being stigmatized and widespread distrust of the health system could also be important factors, she said.
The report also points out that in geographically large counties, treatment centers may be located in densely populated centers, which can be difficult for people in remote areas to access. I am. However, it is difficult to determine the causal relationship between the existence of clinics and mortality. County with high mortality from substance abuse and overdose may simply have a clinic.
