According to the latest numbers released by the United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1 out of 4 drug Overdose deaths that were reported in 2015 was due to an overdose of heroin. When compared to this, in 1999 only 6% of overdoses were related to heroin. The report was published on Friday and has already created tension among doctors.
The CDC examined data from 1999 to 2015. The data was collected from the National Vital Statistics System. According to them, during 1999, the deaths due to heroin was 6.1% and those figures increased to 16.3% in 2015.
According to the report published by the CDC, the number of deaths caused due to the overdose of heroin is now more than the number of deaths due to accidents and suicides.
Opioid deaths shoot up
According to the CDC, by looking at the data for overdose deaths, the deaths caused by opioid overdose have risen drastically. In the year 2015, 73% of deaths were caused by opioid overdose in contrast to 57% deaths in 2010. Opioid drugs include heroin and other similar chemicals like oxycodone and fentanyl.
Dr. Holly Hedegaard from the National Center for Health Statistics, who was a part of the research team, said that from 2010 to 2015, more than 50,000 people died in the U.S. of overdose. The number of people who died using synthetic drugs like fentanyl has increased; in 2010 there were about 8% overdose death cases, but by 2015, the overdose case had increased to 18%.
Fentanyl is the same drug that was blamed for the death of pop star Prince.
According to the report, people of all age groups were at risk of death due to the overdose of drugs, but those aged between the age group 40-60 were the ones affected the most. The reports added that people aged between 54 and 65 showed the biggest percentage rise in the death rate due to a drug overdose during the study period.
Overdose deaths due to semi-synthetic and natural opioids decrease
The report also confirmed that there is a slight decrease in the percentage of deaths due to the use of synthetic and natural opioids-. In 2015, the percentage of deaths was 24%, whereas in 2010 it was 29%.
The state that was hit the most by the overdose of drugs in 2015 was West Virginia, followed by New Hampshire, Kentucky and Ohio. Many believe that this is the worst they have seen so far and are worried about the rise in drug overdose deaths.
