Opioid-related deaths contribute to US life-expectancy decline

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported a decrease in life expectancy to 78.6 years in 2016 from 78.7 years in 2015. While mortality rates for the elderly continued to decline in 2016, mortality rates rose for every age group younger than 65. The mortality rate for people between the ages of 25 and 34 has risen every year since 2010.

The head of the US National Center of Health Statistics credited opioid-related deaths to the increasing mortality trend among younger people. Also, preliminary data for 2017 seemed to predict that the decline in US life expectancy will not stop. Life expectancy has not declined three years in a row since 1916 to1918, because of the Spanish Flu pandemic. The current decline in life expectancy appears to be because of opioids misuse and overdoses.

The US National Institute on Drug Abuse noted that among patients who had opioids prescriptions, 21% to 29% misused them, 8% to 12% become addicted to them, and 4% to 6% went on to use heroin. About 80% of heroin users started using drugs by misusing prescribed opioids. In the Midwestern US states, opioid overdoses rose by 70% between July 2016 and September 2017.

The report noted that an increase in suicide rates among young and middle-aged people also contributed to the decrease in life expectancy. The CDC noted that the rate of suicides increased by 30% since 1990. More than 50% of the suicide victims in 2016 had no history of mental health issues, while 28% had a history of drug abuse.