Trends in U.S. Drug Overdose Deaths in Non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic, and Non-Hispanic White Persons, 2000–2015
Authors: Meredith S. Shiels, Neal D. Freedman, David Thomas, Amy Berrington de Gonzalez
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2017)

Letters20 March 2018Trends in U.S. Drug Overdose Deaths in Non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic, and Non-Hispanic White Persons, 2000–2015Meredith S. Shiels, PHD, MHS, Neal D. Freedman, PhD, MPH, David Thomas, PhD, and Amy Berrington de Gonzalez, DPhilMeredith S. Shiels, PHD, MHSNational Cancer Institute, Rockville, Maryland (M.S.S., N.D.F., A.B.), Neal D. Freedman, PhD, MPHNational Cancer Institute, Rockville, Maryland (M.S.S., N.D.F., A.B.), David Thomas, PhDNational Institute on Drug Abuse, Bethesda, Maryland (D.T.), and Amy Berrington de Gonzalez, DPhilNational Cancer Institute, Rockville, Maryland (M.S.S., N.D.F., A.B.)Author, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/M17-1812 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail Background: Rates of drug overdose deaths increased by 5.5% per year between 1999 and 2015 in the United States (1). These dramatic increases have largely been attributed to opioid-related deaths in non-Hispanic white (NHW) persons (2), with natural and semisynthetic (primarily prescription) opioids and heroin each contributing to one fourth of these deaths (1). Increases in rates of drug overdose deaths were also recently reported for non-Hispanic black (NHB) and Hispanic persons (1); however, these increases have received less attention and whether these deaths were due to opioids is unclear.Objective: To inform prevention efforts by using age- and sex-specific ...References1. Hedegaard H, Warner M, Minino AM. Drug overdose deaths in the United States, 1999-2015. NCHS data brief. 2017:1-8. [PMID: 28256996] MedlineGoogle Scholar2. Okie S. A flood of opioids, a rising tide of deaths. N Engl J Med. 2010;363:1981-5. [PMID: 21083382] doi:10.1056/NEJMp1011512 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; National Center for Health Statistics. Multiple cause of death, 1999-2015. 2017. Accessed at https://wonder.cdc.gov/mcd-icd10.html on 29 September 2017. Google Scholar4. Warner M, Trinidad JP, Bastian BA, Minino AM, Hedegaard H. Drugs most frequently involved in drug overdose deaths: United States, 2010-2014. Natl Vital Stat Rep. 2016;65:1-15. [PMID: 27996932] MedlineGoogle Scholar5. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Opioid abuse in the U.S. and HHS actions to address opioid-drug related overdoses and deaths. ASPE Issue Brief. 26 March 2015. Accessed at https://aspe.hhs.gov/system/files/pdf/107956/ib_OpioidInitiative.pdf on 15 November 2017. Google Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: National Cancer Institute, Rockville, Maryland (M.S.S., N.D.F., A.B.)National Institute on Drug Abuse, Bethesda, Maryland (D.T.)Acknowledgment: The authors thank Mr. Michael Curry (Information Management Services) for programming support.Financial Support: By the Intramural Program of the National Cancer Institute.Disclosures: Authors have disclosed no conflicts of interest. Forms can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=M17-1812.Reproducible Research Statement:Study protocol: Not available. Statistical code and data set: Available at https://wonder.cdc.gov/controller/datarequest/D77.This article was published at Annals.org on 5 December 2017. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoTrends in U.S. Drug Overdose Deaths Mary E. 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