As drug overdose deaths decrease, other ‘deaths of despair’ are on rise, report says

Drug overdose deaths from prescription opioids decreased for the first time in a decade, but other “deaths of despair” are on the rise, according to a new report.

Deaths from prescriptions opioids decreased from 2017 to 2018 but deaths related to alcohol, cocaine, synthetic opioids, and other psychostimulants such as methamphetamine increased, according to a report from Well Being Trust and the Trust for America’s Health, a non-profit health policy organization.

Alcohol deaths increased by 4% in 2018, according to the report, while suicides went up by 2%.

Drug-induced deaths decreased for white Americans but American Indians, Asians, Black Americans, and Latinos saw an increase in overdose deaths, the report said.

The report analyzed data from the National Center for Health Statistics and found the one-year percent change from 2017 to 2018.

The authors of the report also wrote that the COVID-19 pandemic has the potential to exacerbate mental health and substance abuse disorders.

“The pandemic of the novel coronavirus ... has been and is continuing to cause a massive amount of additional stress and trauma across the population, an increase in social isolation, an unprecedented loss of employment and income, disruption of mental health and substance use services, and diversion of funding and resources to meet emergent needs

“There are several risk factors that contribute to a higher number of people dying from deaths of despair, but it’s the structural inequalities piece that stands out,” Benjamin Miller, chief strategy officer of Well Being Trust and co-author of the report, told NBC News. “Where you live, your ability to get meaningful employment, to get out of poverty, all factor into whether or not you have a fighting chance at optimal health. “The progress we’ve made is not applying to all communities equally, and that is the epitome of inequity.”

A previous study from Well Being Trust found “deaths of despair” could rise over the next decade as a result of the pandemic, according to the report.

The deaths could range from 27,000 and 154,000 from 2020 to 2029, depending on the rate at which the economy recovers, Well Being Trust reported.

An additional 2.4 million Americans filed for first-time unemployment benefits last week, CNN reported, citing the Department of Labor. Overall, 38.6 million people have filed for first-time benefits since the middle of March, comprising 23.7% of the U.S. labor force in March.

This story was originally published May 21, 2020 at 6:29 PM with the headline "As drug overdose deaths decrease, other ‘deaths of despair’ are on rise, report says."