Years of Life Lost to Unintentional Drug Overdose Rapidly Rising in the Adolescent Population, 2016-2020

Years of life lost (YLL) is an epidemiological estimate of premature death which provides increased weight to mortality at younger ages. This study aims to quantify the impact of overdose mortality in adolescents from 2016 to 2020 using YLL and document the role of illicitly manufactured fentanyl in rising overdose rates.

Data were obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Wide-Ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research mortality file for years 2016-2020 to investigate unintentional overdose in adolescents aged 10-19. Unintentional overdose rates were investigated by year, gender, age, and substances involved. YLL was calculated using the Social Security Period of Life Table by age and year. YLL to unintentional overdoses was then compared to other leading causes of adolescent death.

The number of adolescent YLL to unintentional drug overdose in the United States more than doubled from 2019 to 2020 after remaining relatively stable between 2016 and 2019. In 2020, YLL to unintentional overdose accumulated to 84,179 YLL, surpassing that of cancer. Synthetic opioids including primarily illicitly manufactured fentanyl contributed to 81% of overdose deaths and 68,356 YLL, compared to 67% (26,628 YLL) in 2019. YLL to unintentional overdose during 2020 was higher for males (59,274) compared to females (24,905).

Mortality due to unintentional overdose in adolescents reached an all-time high in 2020. The majority of deaths (81%) involved fentanyl and other synthetic opioids. The trends depicted in this study signify the need for increased harm reduction approaches and treatment of opioid use disorder in adolescents.