EconPapers    
Economics at your fingertips  
 

Recent increases in cocaine-related overdose deaths and the role of opioids

C.M. Jones, G.T. Baldwin and W.M. Compton

American Journal of Public Health, 2017, vol. 107, issue 3, 430-432

Abstract: Objectives. To assess trends in cocaine overdose deaths and examine the role opioids play in these deaths. Methods. We used data on drug overdose deaths in the United States from 2000 to 2015 collected in the National Vital Statistics System to calculate annual rates and numbers of cocaine-related overdose deaths overall and deaths both involving and not involving opioids. We assessed statistically significant changes in trends with joinpoint regression. Results. Rates of cocaine-related overdose deaths increased significantly from 1.26 to 2.50 per 100 000 population from 2000 to 2006, declined to 1.35 in 2010, and increased to 2.13 in 2015. Cocaine-related overdose deaths involving opioids increased from 0.37 to 0.91 from 2000 to 2006, declined to 0.57 in 2010, and then increased to 1.36 in 2015. Cocaine-related overdose deaths not involving opioids increased from 0.89 to 1.59 from 2000 to 2006 and then declined to 0.78 in 2015. Conclusions. Opioids, primarily heroin and synthetic opioids, have been driving the recent increase in cocaine-relatedoverdosedeaths.This corresponds to thegrowing supply anduseof heroin and illicitly manufactured fentanyl in the United States.

Date: 2017
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.2105/AJPH.2016.303627

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:10.2105/ajph.2016.303627_0

DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2016.303627

Access Statistics for this article

American Journal of Public Health is currently edited by Alfredo Morabia

More articles in American Journal of Public Health from American Public Health Association
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Christopher F Baum ().

 
Page updated 2025-03-19
Handle: RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:10.2105/ajph.2016.303627_0