In the US, death rates from suicides, alcohol and drug overdoses reach unprecedented highs

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Death rates from suicides, drug overdoses and alcohol hit an all-time high in the United States, but some states were hit much harder than others, according to a report released on Wednesday. by the Commonwealth Fund.

The report examined data from the 50 states and Washington, examining in depth 47 factors affecting health outcomes, including insurance coverage, access to physicians, Obesity, smoking, even tooth loss, and state a score. The data is from 2017.

Although the rates of so-called deaths due to despair are increasing at the national level, the report's investigators have been particularly struck by regional differences in rates.

"When we examine what is happening in the mid-Atlantic states of central Atlantic – West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania – these states are recording the highest rates of drug overdose deaths in the country," he said. David Radley, Senior Scientist, Commonwealth Fund. I said. Rates in these states are at least double the national average of fatal overdose rates.

West Virginia had the highest drug overdose mortality rate, mainly because of the opioid epidemic. In addition, these rates increased by 450% between 2005 and 2017, according to the report.

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Crisis of Opioids and Drugs in America

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Thrown needles are seen in a heroin encampment in the Kensington district of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on April 7, 2017.
In North Philadelphia, the rail chasm, as we know, is the zero point of the opioid epidemic in Philadelphia. Nicknamed El Campanento by locals, the open-air drug market and heroin camp are built with gulch scrapped materials and populated by addicts looking for a hit. Heroin to control their dope, or withdrawal symptoms. In one area, near the 2nd Avenue overpass, empty envelopes for syringes cover the garbage as grass
the used needles they once contained sting like thistles.

/ AFP PHOTO / DOMINICK REUTER (The photo credit should correspond to DOMINICK REUTER / AFP / Getty Images)

NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 07: "Surfer" shoots heroin into a South Bronx park on June 7, 2017 in New York. Like Staten Island, parts of the Bronx are experiencing an addiction epidemic, particularly heroin and other opioid-based drugs. More than 1,370 New Yorkers died from overdoses in 2016, the majority of these deaths being related to opioids. The region of Mott Haven-Hunts Point, in the Bronx in New York, is currently leading the rank of heroin overdose deaths in the city. According to the Deputy Attorney General, drug overdose is now the leading cause of death among Americans under 50 years of age. (Photo by Spencer Platt / Getty Images)

NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 07: A man leans against the wall, appearing to be under the influence of drugs on a South Bronx street on June 7, 2017 in New York. Like Staten Island, parts of the Bronx are experiencing an addiction epidemic, particularly heroin and other opioid-based drugs. More than 1,370 New Yorkers died from overdoses in 2016, the majority of these deaths being related to opioids. The region of Mott Haven-Hunts Point, in the Bronx in New York, is currently leading the rank of heroin overdose deaths in the city. According to the Deputy Attorney General, drug overdose is now the leading cause of death among Americans under 50 years of age. (Photo by Spencer Platt / Getty Images)

Washington, DC – Sept. 18: Family members of those who have died of an opioid overdose attend the "Fed Up" & # 39; Rally to end the opioid epidemic at the National Mall on September 18, 2016 in Washington, DC. Activists and family members gathered in the National Mall to visit the Capitol Building. Some 30,000 people die each year from addiction to the pain pill and heroin. Speakers called on Congress to provide $ 1.1 billion for the Addiction and Recovery Act, which Congress passed in July without funding. (Photo by John Moore / Getty Images)

NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 07: A man is leaning against a wall that appears to be under the influence of drugs on a South Bronx street on June 7, 2017 in New York City. Like Staten Island, parts of the Bronx are experiencing an addiction epidemic, particularly heroin and other opioid-based drugs. More than 1,370 New Yorkers died from overdoses in 2016, the majority of these deaths being related to opioids. The region of Mott Haven-Hunts Point, in the Bronx in New York, is currently leading the rank of heroin overdose deaths in the city. According to the Deputy Attorney General, drug overdose is now the leading cause of death among Americans under 50 years of age. (Photo by Spencer Platt / Getty Images)

NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 07: Brian is smoking a synthetic drug called K2 on the street in the South Bronx on June 7, 2017 in New York. Like Staten Island, parts of the Bronx are experiencing an addiction epidemic, particularly heroin and other opioid-based drugs. More than 1,370 New Yorkers died from overdoses in 2016, the majority of these deaths being related to opioids. The region of Mott Haven-Hunts Point, in the Bronx in New York, is currently leading the rank of heroin overdose deaths in the city. According to the Deputy Attorney General, drug overdose is now the leading cause of death among Americans under 50 years of age. (Photo by Spencer Platt / Getty Images)

Washington, DC – September 18: Activists and family members of their loved ones who died during the opioid / heroin epidemic participate in a "Fed Up! Rally at Capitol Hill on September 18, 2016 in Washington, DC. Protesters called on lawmakers to fund the Addiction and Recovery Act, which Congress passed in July without funding. Some 30,000 Americans die each year in the United States from heroin and pain pills. (Photo by John Moore / Getty Images)

Lt. Patrick Glynn, a Massachusetts police detective in Quincy, received a nasal injection containing naloxone, a drug that prevented an overdose, at police headquarters in Quincy, Massachusetts on 13 June 2014. In 2002, Quincy (Massachusetts) became the first American city to equip its police officers, who used it to remedy 275 overdoses, a significant number in a city of 93,000 residents . The country's police forces are beginning to do the same. The state's program has now far surpassed the only police force: it has taught some 25,747 people in Massachusetts to recognize the signs of overdose of opioid drugs and to administer naloxone. June 13, 2014. REUTERS / Gretchen Ertl (UNITED STATES – Tags: DRUGS SOCIETY CRIMINAL LAW OF HEALTH)

A woman suspected of having acted under the influence of heroin showed weapons to the police on April 19, 2017 in Huntington, West Virginia.
Huntington, the city located in the northwest corner of West Virginia on the Kentucky border, has been described as the epicenter of the opioid crisis. On August 15, 2016, from 3 pm to 9 pm, 28 people in the city have had a heroin overdose with fentanyl, a synthetic opioid far more powerful and dangerous than heroin. The economic incentives are powerful: one kilogram of fentanyl costs $ 5,000, which can give one million tablets sold at $ 20 each for a gain of $ 20 million. "This epidemic does not discriminate," said Huntington Mayor Steve Williams. "Our youngest overdose was 12 years old. The oldest was 77 years old.
/ AFP PHOTO / Brendan Smialowski / Heather SCOTT, US-Health-Drugs-WestVirginia (For a photo, please visit BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI / AFP / Getty Images)

Accessories for smoking and injecting drugs are seen after being found during a police raid on April 19, 2017 in Huntington, West Virginia.
Huntington, the city located in the northwest corner of West Virginia on the Kentucky border, has been described as the epicenter of the opioid crisis. On August 15, 2016, from 3 pm to 9 pm, 28 people in the city have had a heroin overdose with fentanyl, a synthetic opioid far more powerful and dangerous than heroin. The economic incentives are powerful: one kilogram of fentanyl costs $ 5,000, which can give one million tablets sold at $ 20 each for a gain of $ 20 million. "This epidemic does not discriminate," said Huntington Mayor Steve Williams. "Our youngest overdose was 12 years old. The oldest was 77 years old.
/ AFP PHOTO / Brendan Smialowski / Heather SCOTT, US-Health-Drugs-WestVirginia (For a photo, please visit BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI / AFP / Getty Images)

Accessories for smoking and injecting drugs are seen after their discovery during a police raid on April 19, 2017 in Huntington, West Virginia.
Huntington, the city located in the northwest corner of West Virginia on the Kentucky border, has been described as the epicenter of the opioid crisis. On August 15, 2016, from 3 pm to 9 pm, 28 people in the city have had a heroin overdose with fentanyl, a synthetic opioid far more powerful and dangerous than heroin. The economic incentives are powerful: one kilogram of fentanyl costs $ 5,000, which can give one million tablets sold at $ 20 each for a gain of $ 20 million. "This epidemic does not discriminate," said Huntington Mayor Steve Williams. "Our youngest overdose was 12 years old. The oldest was 77 years old.
/ AFP PHOTO / Brendan Smialowski / Heather SCOTT, US-Health-Drugs-WestVirginia (For a photo, please visit BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI / AFP / Getty Images)

An injecting drug paraphernalia is seen after being found during a police raid on April 19, 2017 in Huntington, West Virginia.
Huntington, the city located in the northwest corner of West Virginia on the Kentucky border, has been described as the epicenter of the opioid crisis. On August 15, 2016, from 3 pm to 9 pm, 28 people in the city have had a heroin overdose with fentanyl, a synthetic opioid far more powerful and dangerous than heroin. The economic incentives are powerful: one kilogram of fentanyl costs $ 5,000, which can give one million tablets sold at $ 20 each for a gain of $ 20 million. "This epidemic does not discriminate," said Huntington Mayor Steve Williams. "Our youngest overdose was 12 years old. The oldest was 77 years old.
/ AFP PHOTO / Brendan Smialowski / Heather SCOTT, US-Health-Drugs-WestVirginia (For a photo, please visit BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI / AFP / Getty Images)

Jessica, a homeless heroin addict, is showing her own needlecraft kit, mixing cap and tourniquet in the Kensington neighborhood in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on April 14, 2017.

In North Philadelphia, the rail chasm, as it is called, is at zero in the opioid epidemic in Philadelphia. 80% of us want to go out, "Jessica said, before pointing out the many ways she tried to get treatment for her addiction. In one case, she said, there were no beds available. In another case, a treatment provider required a positive drug test before delivering help, which means that if she had not used it recently she would be refused. Instead of getting treatment, she spends her nights trying to keep herself warm on a mattress under a bridge, right where she was raped and infected with HIV. People come from every corner of the city, and even from the Midwest, for a remarkably cheap and sheer heroine on the largest heroin market on the east coast. / AFP PHOTO / DOMINICK REUTER (The photo credit should correspond to DOMINICK REUTER / AFP / Getty Images)

A paraphernalia of drugs and other garbage strewn a vacant house on April 19, 2017 in Huntington, West Virginia.
Huntington, the city located in the northwest corner of West Virginia on the Kentucky border, has been described as the epicenter of the opioid crisis. On August 15, 2016, from 3 pm to 9 pm, 28 people in the city have had a heroin overdose with fentanyl, a synthetic opioid far more powerful and dangerous than heroin. The economic incentives are powerful: one kilogram of fentanyl costs $ 5,000, which can give one million tablets sold at $ 20 each for a gain of $ 20 million. "This epidemic does not discriminate," said Huntington Mayor Steve Williams. "Our youngest overdose was 12 years old. The oldest was 77 years old.
/ AFP PHOTO / Brendan Smialowski / Heather SCOTT, US-Health-Drugs-WestVirginia (For a photo, please visit BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI / AFP / Getty Images)

A man stepping foot with heroin near a heroin encampment in the Kensington district of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on April 14, 2017.

In North Philadelphia, the rail chasm, as it is called, is at zero in the opioid epidemic in Philadelphia. In and around the camp, a user can buy a bag.
of high quality heroin at a low price and even pay to have another person inject
if, for whatever reason, they are unable to inject. For many people, the addiction process was a slow process that began with a doctor's prescription for pain medication after an accident or surgery. At the end of the treatment, an addiction was born. After searching for black market tablets to feed their addiction, the simple economy of heroin triumphed: the price of a single pill could yield between 2 and 10 bags of heroin, a saving that is difficult to ignore when an insurance company no longer supports the cost.

/ AFP PHOTO / DOMINICK REUTER (The photo credit should correspond to DOMINICK REUTER / AFP / Getty Images)

Washington, DC – September 18: Michael Botticelli, Director of the US National Drug Control Policy, speaks at Fed Up! Rally to end the opioid epidemic on September 18, 2016 in Washington, DC. Activists and family members of people who died as a result of the opioid and heroin epidemic gathered in the national mall to get to the Capitol Building. Some 30,000 people die each year from addiction to the pain pill and heroin. Speakers called on Congress to provide $ 1.1 billion for the Addiction and Recovery Act, which Congress passed in July without funding. (Photo by John Moore / Getty Images)

A man uses a syringe to retrieve the last drops of a reclaimed water bottle in order to mix a heroin injection near a heroin encampment in the Kensington neighborhood in Kensington. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, April 14, 2017.

In North Philadelphia, the railway ravine, as it is called, is at zero point in the opioid epidemic in Philadelphia. The lanes and surrounding property are owned and operated by Consolidated Rail Corporation, a joint subsidiary of Norfolk Southern and CSX. People come from every corner of the city, and even from the Midwest, for a remarkably cheap and sheer heroine on the largest heroin market on the east coast. According to the city's health commission, Philadelphia is on the verge of seeing a 33% increase in the number of drug overdose deaths in 2017 compared to last year.

/ AFP PHOTO / DOMINICK REUTER (The photo credit should correspond to DOMINICK REUTER / AFP / Getty Images)

On April 14, 2017, a Philadelphia police officer patrolled under a bridge near a heroin encampment in the Kensington district of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

North of Philadelphia, the rail chasm, as it is called, is at the zero point in the opioid epidemic in Philadelphia. The lanes and surrounding property are owned and operated by Consolidated Rail Corporation, a joint subsidiary of Norfolk Southern and CSX. Last month, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney announced citations against the Consolidated Rail Corporation for what the mayor, in a statement, said was Conrail's inability to clean up and secure his own property. Visitors and gulch homeless residents say the garbage is not their fault and that they are there only because they have nowhere to go. According to the city's health commission, Philadelphia is on the verge of seeing a 33% increase in the number of drug overdose deaths in 2017 compared to last year.
/ AFP PHOTO / DOMINICK REUTER (The photo credit should correspond to DOMINICK REUTER / AFP / Getty Images)

Sanford, ME – FEBRUARY 16: Milo Chernin, who lost her son Sam to a heroin overdose on January 16, 2017, is looking at pictures at her home in Sanford. She says Sam, who died at age 25, was addicted and could not stay away from heroin despite treatment. (Photo of Derek Davis / Portland Herald Press via Getty Images)

GROTON, CT – MARCH 23: A box of the Naloxone opioid antidote, also known as Narcan, is on display at a family addiction support group on March 23, 2016 in Groton, CT . The drug is used to revive people suffering from heroin overdose. The Communities Speak Out group organizes monthly meetings in a public library for family members to explain how their loved ones' addiction affects them and to provide each other with emotional support. Communities across the country are battling the unprecedented epidemic of heroin and pain-fighting opioids. On March 15, the US Center for Disease Control (CDC) announced to doctors guidelines to reduce the amount of opioid painkillers prescribed across the country in order to combat the epidemic. The CDC estimates that most new heroin addicts first became dependent on prescription painkillers before switching to heroin, which is stronger and cheaper. (Photo by John Moore / Getty Images)

NEW LONDON, CT – MARCH 23: A heroin user injects on March 23, 2016 in New London, CT. Communities all over New England and across the country are battling the unprecedented epidemic of heroin and opioid pain pills. On March 15, the US Center for Disease Control (CDC) announced to doctors guidelines to reduce the amount of opioid painkillers prescribed across the country in order to combat the epidemic. The CDC estimates that most new heroin addicts first became dependent on prescription painkillers before switching to heroin, which is stronger and cheaper. (Photo by John Moore / Getty Images)

GROTON, CT – MARCH 23: Family members of heroin addicts and pain opioids share their stories during a support group held on March 23, 2016 in Groton, CT. The Communities Speak Out group organizes monthly meetings in a public library for family members to explain how their loved ones' addiction affects them and to provide each other with emotional support. Communities across the country are battling the unprecedented epidemic of heroin and pain-fighting opioids. On March 15, the US Center for Disease Control (CDC) announced to doctors guidelines to reduce the amount of opioid painkillers prescribed across the country in order to combat the epidemic. The CDC estimates that most new heroin addicts first became dependent on prescription painkillers before switching to heroin, which is stronger and cheaper. (Photo by John Moore / Getty Images)

NEW LONDON, CT – MARCH 14: Jackson, 27, who said he was a prescription drug addict, fell in a public library on March 14, 2016 in New London, CT. Police announced that a growing number of suburban drug addicts were coming to town to buy heroin, which is much cheaper than opioid painkillers. On March 15, the US Center for Disease Control (CDC) announced guidelines to doctors to reduce the amount of opioid painkillers prescribed in the country. The CDC estimates that most new heroin addicts first became dependent on prescription painkillers before switching to heroin, which is stronger and cheaper. (Photo by John Moore / Getty Images)

ST. JOHNSBURY, Vermont – FEBRUARY 06: "Buck," 23, and heroin addict, fires on Suboxone, an opioid-addictive drug that also creates a heavy reliance on Feb. 6 2014 in St. Johnsbury, Vermont. Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin recently dedicated his entire State of the State address to the scourge of heroin. Heroin and other opiates began to devastate many communities in the Northeast and Midwest, resulting in an increase in fatal overdoses in several states. While prescription painkillers, such as OxyContin synthetic opioid, are becoming increasingly expensive and regulated, more and more Americans are turning to heroin to fight the pain or to get caught. Heroin, which has seen a rise in production in places such as Afghanistan and parts of Central America, is being sold at a relatively low price and provides a more powerful effect to the business. 39; user. (Photo by Spencer Platt / Getty Images)

"The growth rate of drug overdose deaths in West Virginia is absolutely staggering," Radley told NBC News.

It is not just prescription painkillers and heroin that cause these mortality rates. The authors of the study also report fentanyl and other potent synthetic opioids that slip into illicit drugs such as cocaine. Fentanylis looks like morphine, but 50 to 100 times more potent, according to the National Institute of Addictions.

According to the report, after West Virginia, the country's drug overdose rates were the highest in the country, namely the District of Columbia, Kentucky, Delaware and New Hampshire.

Death rates from suicide and alcohol also showed regional disparities. Suicides or alcoholism have caused suicide rates higher than those caused by drugs in Montana, Nebraska, the Dakotas, Oregon and Wyoming.

How to stack states

In addition to these mortality rates, the report examined 44 other factors that affect the health of a population to determine the ranking of each state.

Hawaii, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Washington, Connecticut and Vermont rank first (Connecticut and Vermont tied for fifth place), while Arkansas, Nevada, Texas, Oklahoma and Mississippi ranks last.

What separates the highest ranked states from the lowest? Health care coverage.

"We really believe that access to health care is the foundation of a high-performing health care system," Radley said.

States ranked at the bottom of the list had all the highest rates of residents not covered by health care.

"Without the opportunity to go see a doctor when you need it, you are far more likely to get sick in a way that puts you in the hospital with a manageable disease like diabetes," added Radley.

In 2017, five of the 17 states that did not extend access to Medicaid through the Affordable Care Act had the highest rates of uninsured adults.

"State decisions about whether to expand their Medicaid programs have had a big impact on their uninsured rates," the authors wrote in their report.

Massachusetts, which expanded access to Medicaid and provided further assistance to offset health care costs, had the lowest rate of uninsured adults in 2017, with 4%. Texas, which declined to expand access to Medicaid, had the highest rate (24%).

But rising costs also affect people enjoying health care coverage, according to the report.

"Health care costs are rising, which translates into higher premiums and higher premiums are being transferred to employees," said Radley.

Get used to rising drug prices, according to a study

He pointed out that in Louisiana, for example, working families spend an average of 10% of their income on health care premiums. This is money that is spent before incidentals such as prescriptions and copays.

Other Southern states have followed similar trends. Employees' average health insurance contributions represented at least 8% of revenues in the states of Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina and Delaware.

The report's authors stated that it was proved that the extension of access to Medicaid had had a positive impact, even in the state that is leading the country in rates drug overdose mortality: West Virginia. The state extended access to Medicaid in 2014, paving the way for better access to drug treatment.

In fact, a Johns Hopkins University study found that opioid drug treatment rates have increased among West Virginia residents who have become eligible for Medicaid after the implementation of ACA. . In 2016, three-quarters of people with opioid dependence were prescribed a medication used to treat their addiction. That accounts for less than a third just before the Medicaid expansion in West Virginia.

Specific information about each state is available in the interactive tool of the Commonwealth Fund.

If you or someone you know is in crisis, call the National Life Line for Suicide Prevention at 800-273-8255, text HOME at 741741 or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources. .

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