Study analyzes geographic distribution of opioid-related deaths

Identifying changes in the geographic distribution of opioid-related deaths is important, and this study badyzed data from more than 351,000 US residents who died from opioids between 1999 and 2016. Researchers have reported an increase in opioid-related death rates in the east of the United Kingdom. States, in particular synthetic opioids.

In 2016, there were 42,249 opioid-related deaths (28,498 men and 13,751 women) in the United States, an opioid-related death rate of 13 per 100,000 population. Eight states (Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Mbadachusetts, Maryland, Maine, New Hampshire and Ohio) had opioid-related mortality rates at least every three years, and two states (Florida and Pennsylvania) and the District of Columbia had opioid HIV-related mortality rates that doubled at least every two years. One of the limitations of the study is the risk of misclbadification of deaths, which could lead to underreporting of opioid-related deaths. The results of the study suggest that policies focused on reducing opioid-related deaths may need to prioritize synthetic opioids.