Opioid overdose decedent characteristics during COVID-19

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Epidemiology
• Toxicology

Background:

• Preliminary data suggested rising opioid overdose deaths alongside COVID-19 emergence in the US.
• Limited information exists on state-level opioid overdose death trends and decedent characteristics using official records.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze state-level opioid overdose death trends and decedent characteristics using official vital statistics data from 2018-2020.
• To identify new and continuing trends in opioid overdose deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of vital statistics data from 11 states (2018-2020).
• Compared opioid-related overdose death rates, substance involvement, and decedent demographics (sex, race, age) year-over-year.
• Utilized joinpoint regression to assess new vs. continuing trends in 2020 compared to 2019.

Main Results:

• Significant increases in opioid overdose death rates were observed in 7 states, continuing previous trends.
• New increases in synthetic opioid-involved overdose deaths were noted in 3 states, while continuing in 4 others.
• Continuing increases in overdose deaths among Black non-Hispanic individuals were found in 2 states.

Conclusions:

• Vital statistics data reveal shifts in opioid overdose trends during the COVID-19 pandemic, distinct from aggregated data.
• Synthetic opioids, particularly fentanyl, continue to drive fatal overdoses, complicating the assessment of COVID-19's impact.
• Timely and comprehensive fatal opioid overdose data are crucial for informing state-specific public health interventions amidst concurrent crises.