Drug Overdose Deaths in the United States, 1999–2020

Details

• Personal Author:
  Hedegaard, Holly ; Miniño, Arialdi M. ; Spencer, Merianne Rose ; Warner, Margaret
• Corporate Authors:
  National Center Health Statistics (U.S.)
• Description:
  Deaths from drug overdose continue to contribute to overall mortality and the lowering of life expectancy in the United States (1-4). This report uses the most recent data from the NationalVital Statistics System (NVSS) to update statistics on deaths from drug overdose in the United States, showing rates by demographic group and by specific types of drugs involved (such as opioids or stimulants), with a focus on changes from 2019 to 2020.
  
  Key findings: Data from the National Vital Statistics System: The age-adjusted rate of drug overdose deaths increased 31% from 2019 (21.6 per 100,000 standard population) to 2020 (28.3). Among adults aged 35–44, the age group with the highest rates, drug overdose deaths increased 33% from 2019 (40.5) to 2020 (53.9). Rates increased from 2019 to 2020 for all race and Hispanic-origin groups. The rate of drug overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids other than methadone (such as fentanyl) increased 56%, from 11.4 in 2019 to 17.8 in 2020. From 2019 to 2020, the rate of drug overdose deaths involving cocaine increased 22%, from 4.9 to 6.0, and the rate of drug overdose deaths involving psychostimulants with abuse potential (such as methamphetamine) increased 50%, from 5.0 to 7.5.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Analgesics, Opioid / Poisoning Cause Of Death / Trends Central Nervous System Stimulants / Poisoning Drug Overdose Drug Overdose / Ethnology Drug Overdose / Mortality Mortality Narcotics / Poisoning Sex Distribution Suicide / Statistics & Numerical Data United States / Epidemiology

  More +
• Source:
  NationalVital Statistics System
• Series:
  NCHS Data Briefs
• DOI:
  http://dx.doi.org/10.15620/cdc:112340
• ISSN:
  ISSN 1941–4927 Print ed. ; ISSN 1941–4935 Online ed.
• Publisher:
  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.)
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Statistics
• Place as Subject:
  United States
• CIO:
  National Center for Health Statistics (U.S.)
• Topic:
  Diseases & Conditions
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  8 pdf pages
• Issue:
  428
• Citation:
  Hedegaard H, Miniño AM, Spencer MR, Warner M. Drug overdose deaths in the United States, 1999–2020. NCHS Data Brief, no 428. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2021. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.15620/cdc:112340
• Collection(s):
  National Center for Health Statistics
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:5c5e6064cc1a0cff3b6bb0ec336c11070471a8473136fb32b966d9bea06acd9655f2316a9396e2652b36123f956105b0194baa8b6d7e98f9a8a86282952b075f
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/112340/cdc_112340_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 500.19 KB ]