Study says US has highest drug overdose deaths

With the drug overdose death rate increased by more than 200% since 2001, the US is now the world leader in the rate of these preventable deaths. A new study by researchers at the US National Cancer Institute (NCI) shows that the rate of drug-related deaths in the US now exceeds those in many other developed countries by more than 200%.

While conducting the study, researchers analysed the mortality database compiled by the World Health Organization in 13 countries to calculate the trends in overdose death rates from 2001 to 2015. The study analysed data from the US, Wales, Spain, Norway, the Netherlands, Mexico, Germany, Finland, Estonia, England, Denmark, Chile, and Australia.

Dr Yingxi Chen, one of the study’s authors, said that the US had the highest drug overdose death rate in 2015, with 35 deaths for every 100,000 men and 20 deaths for every 100,000 women. The numbers included drug-related deaths for both accidents and suicides for men and women between the ages of 20 and 64.

For men, Chen said that Estonia had the second-highest death rate from drug overdoses in 2015 at 20 deaths per 100,000 men. Norway ranked third at 16 deaths per 100,000 men, while England and Wales tied for the fourth rank, each having 15 deaths per 100,000 men. For women, Norway ranked second, with eight deaths per 100,000 women. Australia ranked third at seven deaths per 100,000 women, while Finland ranked fourth at six deaths per 100,000 women. The researchers reported the results of the study on 13 November in the Annals of Internal Medicine.