CDC: New opioid overdose data reflect a worsening epidemic
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* Kim Krisberg

Increasing emergency department visits for opioid overdoses show the nation’s addiction epidemic is getting worse, reported the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in March.

In a *Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report* study published March 16 as a Vital Signs report, researchers reported that emergency department visits for opioid overdoses increased 30 percent in 16 states between July 2016 and September 2017. Such overdoses went up among men and women, among all age groups and in all regions.

“Long before we receive data from death certificates, emergency department data can point to alarming increases in opioid overdoses,” said CDC Acting Director Anne Schuchat, MD, in a news release.

The data, based on 16 states in CDC’s Enhanced State Opioid Overdose Surveillance Program, found significant increases in emergency department visits in states in the Midwest. For example, Wisconsin experienced a 109 percent increase in visits for opioid overdose, while Illinois reported a 66 percent increase, Indiana had a 35 percent increase and Ohio reported a 28 percent increase.

Other regions of the country showed more variations. For instance, in the Northeast, Delaware and Pennsylvania experienced big increases, while New Hampshire and Rhode Island reported nonsignificant decreases. One state, Kentucky, experienced a significant decrease in opioid overdose emergency visits.

![Figure1](http://www.thenationshealth.org/https://www.thenationshealth.org/content/nathealth/48/3/7.1/F1.medium.gif)

[Figure1](http://www.thenationshealth.org/content/48/3/7.1/F1)

More people are needing emergency department care for opioid overdose, according to a CDC report.

Photo by Monkeybusinessimages, courtesy iStockphoto

Across the 16 states, there were nearly 119,200 emergency department visits that involved a suspected opioid overdose within the span of little more than a year. The Midwest region reported the largest increase at nearly 70 percent, followed by the West at about 40 percent, Northeast at 21 percent, Southwest at about 20 percent and the Southeast at 14 percent.

CDC also documented increases in opioid overdose-related emergency department visits across urbanization levels. For example, large central metropolitan areas reported a 54 percent increase, while small metropolitan areas experienced a nearly 37 percent increase.

In 2016, according to CDC, more than 63,600 deaths due to drug overdoses occurred, a more than 21 percent increase from 2015 and with nearly two-thirds of such deaths involving prescription or illicit opioids.

For more information, visit [www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns](http://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns).

*   Copyright The Nation’s Health, American Public Health Association