US Overdose Deaths Down by 14%: CDC

Amid a battle against drug overdoses in the U.S, recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reveal a 14 percent decrease in overdose deaths.

What Does the Data Reveal?

According to provisional CDC data released Wednesday there were approximately 97,000 deaths in the 12-month period ending June 30. This is a 14 percent drop from an estimated 113,000 overdose deaths in the previous period as it suggests a hopeful trend in an otherwise devastating public health crisis, according to experts.

The decline marks a remarkable shift in overdose trends that have plagued the nation since the 1990s, initially fueled by prescription opioids and later by an influx of synthetic opioids like heroin and more recently fentanyl.

“This is a pretty stunning and rapid reversal of drug overdose mortality numbers,” Brandon Marshall, a Brown University researcher who studies overdose trends, said to The Associated Press (AP).

Provisional data had also indicated a slight decline for 2023, and Wednesday’s data showed that the downward trend has kept going.

What’s Attributed to the Decline?

While experts are cautiously optimistic, some attribute this decrease to factors related to the COVID-19 pandemic. With lockdowns and isolation in the rearview, access to addiction treatment services has improved, helping more individuals avoid fatal overdoses.

Farida Ahmad from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics noted that pandemic-era social isolation and reduced access to care had contributed to a severe rise in overdose deaths, making the recent drop a “natural” correction.

“During the pandemic we saw such a meteoric rise in drug overdose deaths that it’s only natural we would see a decrease,” Ahmad said to the AP.

Key public health interventions, including increased access to the overdose-reversing drug naloxone and addiction medications like buprenorphine, are also believed to be driving the improvement, said Erin Winstanley from the University of Pittsburgh.

Marshall pointed out that these efforts have been amplified by settlement funds from opioid-related lawsuits, which have allowed cities and towns to bolster their drug intervention resources.

What States Have Seen More Overdoses?

Despite the overall decline, overdose death rates remain significantly higher than they were pre-pandemic, with the crisis persisting in certain regions and demographic groups.

The CDC reports that while overdose death reports are down in 45 states they have not decreased uniformly, with five states—Alaska, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington—experiencing increases.

The largest declines were observed in North Carolina and Ohio, though data limitations, including incomplete death records, mean these numbers may be somewhat provisional.

Other Concerns

Researchers are also concerned about the rise of xylazine, an animal tranquilizer increasingly found in fentanyl supplies, which could complicate the overdose landscape in unpredictable ways.

Additionally, overdose fatalities have disproportionately impacted Black and Native American communities, indicating a need for more granular data to understand the decline across all racial and ethnic groups.

As the U.S. continues to grapple with this complex crisis, experts like Marshall underscore the importance of sustaining these recent gains, suggesting that while the numbers offer hope, the battle against overdose deaths is far from over.

“We really need more data from the CDC to learn whether these declines are being experienced in all racial ethnic subgroups,” Marshall said.

This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.