Ohioians have lost more than a million years of life due to a drug overdose since 2009

The drug addiction epidemic continues to plague the country and thousands of lives are abridged each year due to overdose. Unfortunately, when a person's life ends prematurely, its potential impact on the world is largely lost. This includes both lost benefits to society and lost experiences for family and friends left behind.

To illustrate this point, a new study from the University of Ohio indicates that more than 1 million years of life were lost as a result of overdose deaths that occurred between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2018.

The Ohio Alliance for Innovation in Population Health (The Alliance) is a collaborative initiative formed by the College of Sciences and Health Professions of the University Ohio, other partners in higher education, health systems, insurers, health advocacy groups and population health advocates. data on deaths in the state of Ohio, including preliminary data for 2018, to determine the extent to which overdose deaths have contributed to premature mortality.

The data from the death certificate file of the Ohio Department of Health were badyzed and the calculation of the number of years of life lost was done by subtracting the age of death from the duration expected life, based on data from the Social Security Administration.

In 2009, 1,389 people died of an overdose in Ohio. This number has grown from about 200 per year before growing to about 400 in 2014, 500 in 2015, and then 1,000 in 2016 and 2017, when it peaked at 4,817.

In total, 26,375 Ohioians died from an overdose between 2009 and 2018; Although these people lived a total of 1,090,964 years, they also lost 1,028,005 years of life, which essentially allowed them to halve their lives.

"The Alliance's latest study on the years of life lost in Ohio reveals that the average lifespan of our state has been reduced by 0.78 years due to a drug overdose "said Rick Hodges, director of the Alliance. "In 2017 alone, the average life in Ohio decreased by 1.28 years due to overdose deaths."

Dr. Andrew Kolodny, co-director of the Opioid Policy Research Group at Brandeis University, said that the Alliance's study was unique in its kind because of the accurate description and relevant to how families are directly affected when a friend or loved one is cut off from overdose drug.

"Years of life lost capture the experience of people who have lost loved ones better than counting the number of deaths," Kolodny said. "These are the years when they will not have the opportunity to celebrate their birthday or the years when they will not see their loved ones grow and mature." This staggering figure of one million people is a big one. years of lost life is a reflection of the many young people who have died and it's hard to really figure out how much the figure represents pain and suffering. "

Scott Weidle, of Germantown, Ohio, knows this pain too well. His son, Daniel, died in 2015 after suffering from addiction, joining Weidle's son-in-law, nephew and brother, all of whom died as a result of an opioid overdose between 2005 and 2018.

Weidle then created danielsstory.org, and his efforts focused on prescription opioid reform and improving the care provided to people with addictions. In 2018, the Daniel Law Law was signed in Ohio, allowing pharmacists to administer Vivitrol to prevent the effects of opioids on the body.

"(Daniel) has left three children who will continue to live without their father for the rest of their lives," said Weidle. "More than all the years of life lost, I find it very disturbing to think about who is missing out on these years of life: children, families and friends."

Germantown is located in Montgomery County, which features one of the highest YLLs in the study, both in terms of population per 100,000 population and in total.

The study of the Alliance indicates:

• Cuyahoga County represents the highest total of AJP with 112,464. Franklin County lost 100,683 years and Hamilton County was closely followed by Montgomery County, with 89,501 YLL and 88,869 respectively. YLL. In South Ohio, Ross County suffered nearly 10,000 AVPs and in northwestern Ohio, Lucas County lost 37,482 years of life.
• Out of a population per 100,000 population, southern Ohio and southwestern Ohio were the hardest hit, with 12 districts in these areas having lost more than 11,000 years of life, ranging from Hamilton (11). 155) at Montgomery (16606). Other counties include Adams, Pike, Fayette, Ross, Clinton, Clark, Clermont, Scioto, Butler and Brown. In central Ohio, Marion County had 11,469 YLL, and in northeastern Ohio, Trumbull County had 12,508.

The study includes additional data sets for the region, drug type, age, bad, and race for the periods from 2009 to 2018.

"The report that more than a million years of life have been lost due to a drug overdose in Ohio over the last ten years is disappointing.We must understand that every year of lost life is a year when a loved one is missing, and our state is missing someone who has not had the opportunity to reach its maximum potential, "said Mark Hurst, Medical Director of the Ohio Department of Health. "At the same time, we must point out that overdose deaths in Ohio have recently declined and that more people are receiving effective treatment." People are recovering from an addiction, and we should not never lose that hope and that prospect. "

According to Orman Hall, executive in residence for CHSP and study author, the number of drug overdose deaths in Ohio began to increase well before the years covered by this research.

"We estimate that there would have been less than 20,000 years of life lost on average per year in the mid-1990s," Hall said. "In 2017, there has been more than 188,000 years of life lost – it's an increase of 900%."

Kolodny said Ohio is one of the states hardest hit by the overdose and addiction epidemic. However, he said, positive news could emerge on the horizon, with statistics for the beginning of 2018 currently forecasting a nationwide decline in the number of deaths per year. overdose related to opioids for the first time in 25 years.

The Alliance study also shows a decrease in overdose deaths in 2018 (3,609) compared to 2017 (4,817). Such a projected decrease would represent 47,613 fewer years of life lost between the last two years.

"I do not know if this decline (YLL) will be as dramatic at the national level, but there is evidence that Ohio could bend the curve," said Kolodny. "It looks like there was a real drop in 2018, we do not know if the trend will continue in 2019, but there is a bit of light at the end of the tunnel."

Kolodny warned that even with the potential decrease in the number of overdose deaths in 2018, a record number of overdose deaths still occurs in Ohio and throughout the United States.

According to Kolodny, strategies to end the epidemic of opioid dependence are not necessarily those that will reduce overdose deaths in the short term, as the rate of incidence of eating disorders in Opioids must first be reduced. He added that more cautious prescribing practices are needed to prevent new cases. To reduce the number of overdose deaths, the most effective strategy is to make effective treatment more easily accessible.

"The Alliance's research paints a disappointing picture of the real impact of the drug epidemic in our country.Not only have families lost their sons, their daughters, their brothers and sisters, their parents and their friends, but they also lost everything they could have overdosed, "said PSC Dean Randy Leite." CHSP will continue to work to meet the needs of our communities and to find innovative ways to badess and respond to our society's public health needs. The fight against the drug overdose epidemic in Ohio will continue to be an important goal of our collective efforts. "