In 2023, around 72,776 people in the United States died from a drug overdose that involved fentanyl. This was the second-highest number of fentanyl overdose deaths ever recorded in the United States, and a significant increase from the number of deaths reported in 2019. Fentanyl overdoses are now the driving force behind the opioid epidemic, accounting for the majority of overdose deaths in the United States. What is fentanyl? Fentanyl is an extremely potent synthetic opioid similar to morphine, but more powerful. It is a prescription drug but is also manufactured illegally and is sometimes mixed with other illicit drugs such as heroin and cocaine, often without the user’s knowledge. The potency of fentanyl makes it very addictive and puts users at a high risk for overdose. Illegally manufactured fentanyl has become more prevalent in the United States in recent years, leading to a huge increase in drug overdose deaths. In 2022, the rate of drug overdose death involving fentanyl was 22.7 per 100,000 population, compared to a rate of just one per 100,000 population in the year 2013. Fentanyl overdoses by gender and race/ethnicity As of 2022, the rate of drug overdose deaths involving fentanyl in the United States is over two times higher among men than women. Rates of overdose death involving fentanyl were low for both men and women until around the year 2014 when they began to quickly increase, especially for men. In 2022, there were around 19,880 drug overdose deaths among women that involved fentanyl compared to 53,958 such deaths among men. At that time, the rate of fentanyl overdose deaths was highest among non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Natives and lowest among non-Hispanic Asians. However, from the years 2014 to 2018, non-Hispanic whites had the highest fentanyl overdose death rates.

In 2022, overdose deaths involving opioids in the United States totaled over ** thousand. The majority of opioid deaths involve fentanyl. This statistic shows the number of drug overdose deaths in the U.S. from 2020 to 2022, by involved drug type.

Mississippi saw a 55 percent increase in drug overdose deaths from 2019 to 2020. Opioids - such as prescription pain relievers, heroin, and illegally manufactured synthetic opioids such as fentanyl - are the main driver of overdose deaths. This statistic shows the percent change in drug overdose deaths in the U.S. from 2019 to 2020, by state.

From 1999 to 2022, the number of drug overdose deaths among U.S. females increased from ***** in 1999 to ****** in 2022. Globally, drug use is a general problem. As of 2021, there were an estimated *** million global drug consumers and **** million drug addicts. Opioid use in the United States Among many demographics, drug overdose deaths continue to rise in the United States. Opioids are the most commonly reported substance in drug-related deaths. The number of drug-related deaths in the U.S. due to opioids has dramatically increased since the early 2000s. In 2017, then-President Donald Trump declared a national emergency over the opioid crisis in the United States. Since then, there have been joint efforts among various governmental departments to address the opioid crisis through education and outreach. Substance use treatment Substance abuse treatment is vital in reducing the number of drug overdose deaths in the United States. As of 2020, the state of California had the largest number of substance abuse treatment facilities . However, many states in the U.S. have less than 100 substance abuse treatment facilities.

National provisional drug overdose deaths by month and 2013 NCHS Urban–Rural Classification Scheme for Counties. Drug overdose deaths are identified using underlying cause-of-death codes from the Tenth Revision of ICD (ICD–10): X40–X44 (unintentional), X60–X64 (suicide), X85 (homicide), and Y10–Y14 (undetermined). Deaths are based on the county of residence in the United States. Death counts provided are for “12-month ending periods,” defined as the number of deaths occurring in the 12-month period ending in the month indicated. Estimates for 2020 are based on provisional data. Estimates for 2018 and 2019 are based on final data. For more information on NCHS urban-rural classification, see: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_02/sr02_166.pdf

A. SUMMARY This dataset includes unintentional drug overdose death rates by race/ethnicity by year. This dataset is created using data from the California Electronic Death Registration System (CA-EDRS) via the Vital Records Business Intelligence System (VRBIS). Substance-related deaths are identified by reviewing the cause of death. Deaths caused by opioids, methamphetamine, and cocaine are included. Homicides and suicides are excluded. Ethnic and racial groups with fewer than 10 events are not tallied separately for privacy reasons but are included in the “all races” total.

Unintentional drug overdose death rates are calculated by dividing the total number of overdose deaths by race/ethnicity by the total population size for that demographic group and year and then multiplying by 100,000. The total population size is based on estimates from the US Census Bureau County Population Characteristics for San Francisco, 2022 Vintage by age, sex, race, and Hispanic origin.

These data differ from the data shared in the Preliminary Unintentional Drug Overdose Death by Year dataset since this dataset uses finalized counts of overdose deaths associated with cocaine, methamphetamine, and opioids only.

B. HOW THE DATASET IS CREATED This dataset is created by copying data from the Annual Substance Use Trends in San Francisco report from the San Francisco Department of Public Health Center on Substance Use and Health.

C. UPDATE PROCESS This dataset will be updated annually, typically at the end of the year.

D. HOW TO USE THIS DATASET N/A

E. RELATED DATASETS Overdose-Related 911 Responses by Emergency Medical Services Preliminary Unintentional Drug Overdose Deaths San Francisco Department of Public Health Substance Use Services

F. CHANGE LOG

• 12/16/2024 - Updated with 2023 data. Asian/Pacific Islander race/ethnicity group was changed to Asian.
• 12/16/2024 - Past year totals by race/ethnicity were revised after obtaining accurate race/ethnicity for some decedents that were previously marked as “unknown” race/ethnicity.

In 2020, there were approximately 4.2 overdose deaths from heroin per 100,000 population in urban settings in the United States. In comparison, the overdose death rate from heroin in rural areas of the U.S. was 3.2 per 100,000 population. This statistic shows the death rate from drug overdose in the U.S. in 2020, by urbanicity and drug type

West Virginia is currently the state with the highest drug overdose death rate in the United States, with ** deaths per 100,000 population in 2022. Although West Virginia had the highest drug overdose death rate at that time, California was the state where the most people died from drug overdose. In 2022, around ****** people in California died from a drug overdose. The main perpetrator Opioids account for the majority of all drug overdose deaths in the United States. Opioids include illegal drugs such as heroin, legal prescription drugs like oxycodone, and illicitly manufactured synthetic drugs like fentanyl. The abuse of opioids has increased in recent years, leading to an increased number of drug overdose deaths. The death rate from heroin overdose hit an all-time high of *** per 100,000 population in 2016 and 2017, but has decreased in recent years. Now, illicitly manufactured synthetic opioids such as fentanyl account for the majority of opioid overdose deaths in the United States. Opioid epidemic The sharp rise in overdose deaths from opioids have led many to declare the United States is currently experiencing an opioid epidemic or opioid crisis. The causes of this epidemic are complicated but involve a combination of a rise in dispensed prescriptions, irresponsible marketing from pharmaceutical companies, a lack of physician-patient communication, increased social acceptance of prescription drugs, and an increased supply of cheap and potent heroin on the streets.

This study's objective is to assess how state-level COVID-19 mitigation policies have affected psychological health and related mortality from drug overdose and suicide among working age and older adults. Research to date has investigated how state-level COVID-19 policies in the United States--specifically those limiting in-person activities (e.g., stay-at-home orders, school closures) and those providing economic support (e.g., direct cash payments, eviction moratoria)--were associated with drug overdose mortality rates among U.S. working-age adults (25-64 years) during 2020 (Wolf et al., 2024). Research has also identified shifts in the predictive importance of key contextual variables--including socioeconomic conditions, racial-ethnic composition, population health profiles, and physician supply--for all-cause mortality, drug poisoning, and COVID-19-related deaths (Montez et al., 2024). The ICPSR provides variable-level metadata for the data associated with this study. The actual data may only be available from the Principal Investigator directly. The variable descriptions available through ICPSR also include information regarding the source of each variable listed, as does the Data Source field of these metadata.

In 2020, there were around 40 overdose deaths among males per 100,000 population in urban settings, while the drug overdose death rate was slightly lower for males in rural areas with 34 deaths per 100,000 population. This statistic shows the death rate from drug overdose in the U.S. in 2020, by urbanicity and gender.

ObjectiveOur study analyzed the impact of civil commitment (CC) laws for substance use disorder (SUD) on opioid overdose death rates (OODR) in the U.S. from 2010–21.MethodsWe used a retrospective study design using the CDC Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research (WONDER) dataset to analyze overdose death rates from any opioid during 2010–21 using ICD-10 codes. We used t-tests and two-way ANOVA to compare the OODR between the U.S. states with the law as compared to those without by using GraphPad Prism 10.0.ResultsWe found no significant difference in the annual mean age-adjusted OODR from 2010–21 between U.S. states with and without CC SUD laws. During the pre-COVID era (2010–19), the presence or absence of CC SUD law had no difference in age-adjusted OODR. However, in the post-COVID era (2020–21), there was a significant increase in OODR in states with a CC SUD law compared to states without the law (p = 0.032). We also found that OODR increased at a faster rate post-COVID among both the states with CC SUD laws (p 

In 2020, there were 44.3 overdose deaths per 100,000 population among American Indians/Alaskan Natives located in urban areas, compared to a drug overdose death rate of around 40 per 100,000 population in rural areas. This statistic shows the death rate from drug overdose in the U.S. in 2020, by urbanicity and ethnicity

Rank, number of deaths, percentage of deaths, and age-specific mortality rates for the leading causes of death, by age group and sex, 2000 to most recent year.

It is projected that if the opioid overdose crisis stabilizes by the year 2020 there will be around ******* overdose deaths from prescription and illicit opioids from 2016 to 2025. If the crisis does not stabilize until the year 2025 it is predicted that overdose deaths due to illicit opioids will reach a total of over ****million from 2016 to 2025.

According to Cognitive Market Research, the Global Opioids Market Size will be USD XX Billion in 2023 and is set to achieve a market size of USD XX Billion by the end of 2031 growing at a CAGR of XX% from 2024 to 2031.

  The global opioid market will expand significantly by XX% CAGR between 2024 and 2030.
  The Pain Relief segment accounts for the largest market share and is anticipated to a healthy growth over the approaching years.
  The hospital pharmacies had a market share of about XX% in 2023.
  The Extended Release /Long-Acting Opioids holds the largest share and is expected to grow in the coming years as well.
  The injectable segment is the market's largest contributor and is anticipated to expand at a CAGR of XX% during the projected period.
  The oxycodone segment holds the largest share and is expected to grow in the coming years as well.
  North America region dominated the market and accounted for the highest revenue of XX% in 2023 and it is projected that it will grow at a CAGR of XX% in the future.

Market Dynamics of the Opioids

Rising prevalence of chronic pain conditions globally

The increased prescription of painkillers during post-operative procedures and an increase in patients with terminally chronic pain or diseases including HIV, and severe cough brought on by lung infections are two causes that are anticipated to increase opioid use as a pain reliever. Chronic pain affects an estimated 20% of the global population, with conditions such as arthritis, cancer, and lower back pain contributing to the growing demand for effective pain management solutions. In the past, it resulted in a demand surge for opioids and boosted growth. Another factor for the growth of the opioid drug market is the spike in the number of surgeries. According to the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2019, the prevalence of high-impact chronic pain in the United States was 7.4 percent.

(Source-https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db390-H.pdf)

The aging population’s vulnerability is at high risk of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, arthritis, and cancer due to the high comorbid conditions. Declining fertility and mortality rates are some factors contributing to the geriatric population's rise. The impact of chronic pain increases with age and is highest among adults aged 65 years and above. Therefore, the rising geriatric population is anticipated to increase the demand for opioid drugs to manage chronic pain. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the geriatric population increased from 1.0 million in 2020 to 1.4 million in 2021.

(Source-https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/ageing-and-health)

Opioid addiction and its side effects pose significant challenges to the market

One of the major challenges for this market is the high potential for abuse and addiction, physicians have scaled back their pain management prescriptions, decreasing global scales. The rising prevalence of opioid abuse is expected to stifle market growth, as practitioners are hesitant to prescribe opioids as pain relievers. The patient may become tolerant and need more and more drugs to achieve the effect of smoothing the pain. Moreover, using opioids for an extended period can develop a dependency, and after leaving the drug, the patient may suffer from withdrawal symptoms such as anxiety, irritability, drug cravings, tremors (shaking), and others. The heightened regulatory scrutiny has resulted in stricter guidelines for prescribing opioids, impacting accessibility for patients in genuine need of pain relief. Regulatory changes often aim to strike a balance between ensuring access for patients and preventing misuse. The forecasted period illustrates a decrease in the opioid market growth due to the adversities and the negative effects of opioids. Researchers and experts have considered this and are making constant efforts to reduce and minimize the negative side effects of opioids. As per the record, drug overdose in the year 2018, had 657 deaths.

(Source-https://www.mass.gov/doc/opioid-related-overdose-deaths-among-ma-residents-august-2018/download)

Furthermore, the Millennium Health's Signals report (2020) revealed that there was a rise in non-prescribe...

In 2020, the southern region of the U.S. had the highest number of drug overdose deaths involving illegally manufactured fentanyl and analogs, with 8,816 male and 3,488 female deaths. Males suffered more overdose drug deaths than females in all U.S. regions in that year. This statistic shows the number of drug overdose deaths that involved illicitly manufactured fentanyls in the U.S. in 2020, by region and gender.

In 2020, the majority of overdose deaths involving illicitly manufactured fentanyls occurred among those aged 25 to 34 years, with ***** drug overdose deaths reported that year. This statistic shows the total number of deaths that involved illicitly manufactured fentanyls in the U.S. in 2020, by age group.

The drug overdose death rate among women aged 65 to 74 in the United States in 2020 was *** per 100,000 population. Synthetic opioids such as fentanyl are the leading cause of drug overdose death in the United States. This statistics shows the drug overdose death rate for women aged 65 to 74 in the United States in 2019 and 2020, by race/ethnicity.

In 2022, the age-adjusted drug overdose death rate in the United States was **** per 100,000 population. Opioids are the main driver of overdose deaths in the United States. This statistic presents the age-adjusted drug overdose death rate in the U.S. from 1999 to 2022, per 100,000 population.

The COVID-19 pandemic introduced imminent and lasting impacts on the opioid crisis in the U.S., including a significant increase in opioid overdose and deaths and in use of telehealth in treatment. What lessons can we learn from the treatment transition during the pandemic that could help tackle the opioid crisis when future pandemics strike? In this paper, we conducted a phone survey with opioid treatment facilities in Pennsylvania to examine the COVID-19’s impacts on treatment facilities and individuals with opioid use disorder during the first year of the pandemic. We separated the lockdown period (Mid-March through Mid-May, 2020) from the reopening period that followed, and urban areas from rural areas, to explore temporal evolution and rural-urban variations in the COVID-19’s impacts. We found rural-urban heterogeneity in facilities’ adoption of telehealth in treatment and in challenges and risk factors faced by their clients during the lockdown period. During the reopening, telehealth was adopted by most facilities, and telehealth-related challenges became less salient; however, both rural and urban facilities reported higher relapse risks faced by their clients, citing factors more likely to be at clients’ end and related to socioeconomic stressors and mental health. Our results highlight the vitality of addressing socioeconomic and mental health challenges faced by individuals with OUD, via government policies and community interventions, when future pandemics strike. The findings also indicate the importance of maintaining facilities’ financial well-being to provide treatment services.