107,622: Another Grim Milestone

 

Yesterday on The PediaBlog, we came to grips with one million COVID deaths in the most technologically developed nation on the planet. But the United States also surpassed another grim milestone recently: Over one million Americans have died in this century from drug overdoses.

Last year was the worst year ever for overdose deaths in the U.S. Meryl Kornfield blames the pandemic for exacerbating a growing trend:

More than 100,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in 2021, up 15 percent from the previous year, according to an estimatereleased by the National Center for Health Statistics. The tally of 107,622 reflects challenges exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic: lost access to treatment, social isolation and a more potent drug supply.

Since the start of the 21st century, an overdose epidemic led by prescription pain pills and followed by waves of heroin, fentanyl and meth has killed more than 1 million people, or roughly the population of San Jose, according to the provisional data.

And there is no clear end in sight, according to experts.

 

Still feeling the effects of a deadly global pandemic, Berkeley Lovelace Jr. explains why 2022 might possibly turn out even worse than 2021 as COVID’s devastating impact deepens:

The data helps illustrate one of the consequences of the pandemic, which has seen an uptick in substance abuse amid widespread unemployment and more Americans reporting mental health issues.

Overdose-related deaths were already increasing before the pandemic, but there was “clearly a very sharp uptick during the pandemic,” said Joseph Friedman, an addiction researcher at the University of California, Los Angeles. He published research in April that found drug overdose deaths among teenagers rose sharply over the last two years.

 

Brittany Bernstein puts these tragic numbers in perspective:

Overdoses were one of the leading causes of death in the U.S. last year, on par with the number of people who died from diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease. Overdoses killed about a quarter as many Americans last year as Covid-19, which was the third leading cause of death in the U.S.

Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, called the CDC data “truly staggering” […]

 

Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid much more powerful than morphine, caused the majority of drug overdose deaths in 2021, Mike Stobbe discovered:

U.S. overdose deaths have risen most years for more than two decades. The increase began in the 1990s with overdoses involving opioid painkillers, followed by waves of deaths led by other opioids like heroin and — most recently — illicit fentanyl.

Last year, overdoses involving fentanyl and other synthetic opioids surpassed 71,000, up 23 percent from the year before. There also was a 23 percent increase in deaths involving cocaine and a 34 percent increase in deaths involving meth and other stimulants.

 

Although parents might not be fully aware of their teenager’s extracurricular activities, pediatricians are trained to screen for substance use problems at every routine well-visit. Parents who suspect their teenager might be at risk for substance abuse should have an open and honest discussion with them while keeping the pediatrician’s office on speed-dial.

 

(Google Images)

 

source http://www.thepediablog.com/2022/05/17/107622-another-grim-milestone/