Understanding Regional Patterns of Overdose Deaths Related to Opioids and Psychostimulants

Background: As overdose rates increase for multiple substances, policymakers need to identify geographic patterns of substance-specific deaths. In this study, we describe county-level opioid and psychostimulant overdose patterns and how they correlate with county-level social vulnerability measures. Methods: A cross-sectional observational study, we used nationwide 2016-2018 restricted access Centers for Disease Prevention and Control county-level mortality files for 1,024 counties. We estimated quartiles of opioid and psychostimulant overdose mortality and provided estimates of their association with county-level Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) percentile. Results: There was high opioid and psychostimulant overdose mortality in the Middle Atlantic, South Atlantic, East North Central, and Mountain regions. The Central US had the lowest opioid and psychostimulant overdose mortality rates. Counties with higher SVI scores (i.e. higher social vulnerability) were significantly more likely to experience high opioid and high psychostimulant overdose (high-high) mortality. A 10-percentile increase in SVI score was associated with a 3.1 percentage point increase in the likelihood of being a high-high county (p < 0.001) in unadjusted models and a 1.5 percentage point increase (p < 0.05) in models adjusting for region. Conclusion: Our results illustrated the heterogenous geographic distribution of the growing concurrent opioid and psychostimulant overdose crisis. The substantial regional variation we identified highlights the need for local data to guide policymaking and treatment planning. The association of opioid-psychostimulant overdose mortality with social vulnerability demonstrates the critical need in impacted counties for tailored treatment that addresses the complex medical and social needs of people who use both opioids and psychostimulants.

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Work Title Understanding Regional Patterns of Overdose Deaths Related to Opioids and Psychostimulants
Access
Open Access
Creators
  1. Joel E. Segel
  2. Riley D Shearer
  3. Abenaa A. Jones
  4. Utsha G Khatri
  5. Benjamin A Howell
  6. D. Max Crowley
  7. Glenn Sterner
  8. Noel Vest
  9. Daniel Teixeira da Silva
  10. Tyler NA Winkelman
Keyword
  1. opioids
  2. psychostimulants
  3. overdose morality
  4. county morality
  5. social vulnerability
License In Copyright (Rights Reserved)
Work Type Article
Publisher
  1. Substance Use and Misuse
Publication Date December 1, 2023
Publisher Identifier (DOI)
  1. https://doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2023.2287220
Deposited June 13, 2024

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Version 1
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  • Created
  • Added Understanding_Regional_Patterns_of_Overdose_Deaths_Related_to_Opioids_and_Psychostimulants.pdf
  • Added Creator Joel E. Segel
  • Added Creator Riley D Shearer
  • Added Creator Abenaa A. Jones
  • Added Creator Utsha G Khatri
  • Added Creator Benjamin A Howell
  • Added Creator D. Max Crowley
  • Added Creator Glenn Sterner
  • Added Creator Noel Vest
  • Added Creator Daniel Teixeira da Silva
  • Added Creator Tyler NA Winkelman
  • Published
  • Updated
  • Updated Keyword, Publication Date Show Changes
    Keyword
    • opioids, psychostimulants, overdose morality, county morality, social vulnerability
    Publication Date
    • 2023-01-01
    • 2023-12-01