Thursday, November 10, 2022

Drug-Induced Death Rates in the Southeastern U.S.

Drug-induced causes accounted for more than 96,000 deaths in the United States in 2020.  Over 95% of those drug related fatalities stemmed from overdoses. On a national basis, this translated to approximately 29.2 drug-induced deaths per 100,000 population.  Drug-induced fatalities were up sharply from 2019 when the U.S. recorded about 74,500 drug-related deaths and incurred a drug-induced death rate of 22.7 per 100,000 population.  The year-to-year deterioration in U.S. drug-induced death statistics was reflective of a negative trend that goes back at least the past two decades.  In 2020 the twelve-state Southeastern U.S. recorded over 28,000 drug-induced deaths, giving the region a collective drug-induced death rate of 32.8 such deaths per 100,000 population.  The region's collective drug-induced death rate was approximately 12% above the national average in 2020. Among the region's twelve states, Kentucky, Tennessee, and West Virginia all recorded 2020 drug-induced death rates that were more than 50% higher than the national average.  A closer look at data from the National Center for Health Statistics provides the following details about drug-induced death rates in the Southeastern U.S.:

Drug-Induced Death Rates in the Southeastern U.S.

Drug-Induced Death Rates in the Southeastern U.S.

State Deaths Population Death Rate*
Alabama 1,213 4,921,532 24.6
Arkansas 585 3,030,522 19.3
Florida 7,480 21,733,312 34.4
Georgia 2,024 10,710,017 18.9
Kentucky 2,187 4,477,251 48.8
Louisiana 1,953 4,645,318 42.0
Mississippi 611 2,966,786 20.6
North Carolina 3,290 10,600,823 31.0
South Carolina 1,804 5,218,040 34.6
Tennessee 3,161 6,886,834 45.9
Virginia 2,331 8,590,563 27.1
West Virginia 1,397 1,784,787 78.3
     Region 28,036 85,565,785 32.8
U.S. Totals 96,096 329,484,123 29.2

(*) number of drug-induced deaths (intentional and unintentional) per 100,000 population

Report Period: 2020

Source: CDC Wonder. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. Underlying Cause of Death 1999-2020 on CDC WONDER Online Database, released in 2021. Data are from the Multiple Cause of Death Files, 1999-2020, as compiled from data provided by the 57 vital statistics jurisdictions through the Vital Statistics Cooperative Program. Accessed on November 5, 2022

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