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Preliminary figures from the CDC show that fatal overdose cases in the United States increased from 72,000 in 2017 to 68,500 in 2018, resulting in a 5% drop in the total number of overdose deaths in the country. ( Arek Socha | pixabay )
In the United States, the number of deaths from drug overdoses decreased in 2018, the first significant decline in the number of cases since the 1990s, according to federal officials.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently released their provisional data on deaths related to illegal drugs in the United States. The results showed that the number of overdose deaths increased from 72,000 in 2017 to 68,500 in 2018.
The figures reflect an estimated 5% drop in the total number of overdose deaths in the country.
Fighting the drug overdose crisis
While the reduction may not be important, health experts believe this shows that the government's efforts to tackle the current drug crisis are moving in the right direction.
"The latest provisional data on overdose deaths show that America's united efforts to combat the disorder of opioid use and addiction are paying off," said Department Secretary Alex Azar health and social services.
"Lives are saved and we start winning the fight against this crisis."
Azar attributed this improvement to the leadership of the Trump administration, as well as to the work of communities across America aimed at providing badisted medical treatment to patients and dispensing drugs needed to reverse the overdose .
The secretary of the HHS also announced that opioid prescriptions had decreased throughout the country.
Opioids remained one of the drugs most likely to cause a fatal overdose in Americans. However, the CDC study showed that opioid-related deaths also decreased slightly, from 49,000 the year before to 47,600 cases in 2018.
As many as 32,000 deaths recorded in 2018 involved the use of powerful synthetic opioids such as fentanyl. The drug has been identified as one of the leading factors in drug overdose deaths in recent years.
Warnings on CDC Preliminary Report
Although the numbers indicate an improvement in fatal overdose rates, it is important to note that they were extracted from the interim data from the CDC. This means that the results are preliminary and that they can still change pending the release of the final report of the federal agency at the end of the year. The final numbers may be higher or lower than what is shown at the moment.
In 2017, about 2,000 fatal overdose cases were recorded, compared to those in the final report. If the 2018 report shows the same gap, with only overdose deaths considered undercounted, the final numbers could be worse than in 2017.
It is also possible that stabilization in opioid cases may still change significantly over the next few months.
For example, the number of drug overdose deaths appears to have stabilized at around 41,500 between 2011 and 2012. However, it eventually climbed to around 70,000 after the introduction of synthetic opioids into the market black.
Health experts are still worried about the growing number of synthetic opioids used in the United States. The number of people using fentanyl and other synthetic drugs of this type increased from over 29,000 the year before to about 32,000 in 2018. Overdoses related to cocaine use and psychostimulants also increased during the same period.
The decrease in the number of deaths due to drug overdose and the number of opioid badgesic deaths may also be attributable to the lower number of prescriptions prescribed by physicians in 2018.
This could mean that if fatal overdose cases related to other drugs continue to increase, they could then overcome any decreases related to the death of painkillers.
Despite the improvements presented in the CDC's report, the federal government remains committed to completely eliminating overdose cases.
"This crisis has developed over two decades and will not be solved overnight," Azar said.
"We are also facing other emerging threats, such as trends in overdoses of cocaine and methamphetamine."
He added that the government would continue to provide resources and support to the public to help prevent and treat addiction.
Ⓒ 2018 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
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