The number of opioid deaths in the United States is multiplied by four in 20 years: a study – Xinhua

Photo File: Overdose Relief Kits Sitting On A Table During An Opioid Overdose Prevention Training Course Held By Lourdes Hospital Of Binghamton, New York, United States, April 5, 2018 (Xinhua / REUTERS)

WASHINGTON, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) – A new study has shown that the number of opioid – related deaths in the United States has quadrupled in the last two decades and has spread rapidly in the east of the country.

The study published Friday in the journal JAMA Network Open revealed that deaths from opioids caused by synthetic substances such as fentanyl were more numerous than deaths by heroin.

Researchers from Stanford University, Harvard University, and the University of Toronto have traced the three-step evolution of the opioid crisis. The first wave of opioid-related deaths in the 1990s around 2010 was related to prescription pain medications and the second from 2010 was related to heroin-related deaths.

The third wave began around 2013 and has seen a rapid increase in the number of deaths badociated with illicitly manufactured synthetic opioids, such as tramadol and fentanyl, according to the study.

They found that more and more people were affected and that the epidemic spread from rural areas to urban areas.

In addition, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that African Americans experienced the largest increase in opioid overdose deaths from 2016 to 2017, with an increase of 26%.

On average, 130 Americans have died each day of an opioid overdose in 2017, according to the CDC.

The opioid death rate has risen fastest in Washington, more than three times a year since 2013, while opioid-related death rates are doubling every two years, according to the study.