Drug and Opioid Overdose Deaths — United States ~ 2000–2014
I
CDC analyzed recent multiple cause-of-death mortality data from the National Vital Statistics System to track current trends and shifting characteristics of drug overdose deaths. Opioids—primarily prescription pain relievers and heroin—are the main driver of overdose deaths. Opioids were involved in 28,647 deaths in 2014 and opioid overdoses have quadrupled since 2000.
Significant increases in drug overdose death rates were seen in the Northeast, Midwest and South Census Regions. In 2014, the five states with the highest rates of death due to drug overdose were West Virginia, New Mexico, New Hampshire, Kentucky and Ohio. States with statistically significant increases in the rate from 2013 to 2014 included Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
TABLE. Number and age-adjusted rates of drug overdose deaths,* by sex, age, race and Hispanic origin,† Census region, and state —United States, 2013 and 2014 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Decedent characteristic |
2013 |
2014 |
% change from 2013 to 2014 |
||
No. |
Age-adjusted rate |
No. |
Age-adjusted rate |
||
All |
43,982 |
13.8 |
47,055 |
14.7 |
6.5§ |
Sex |
|||||
Male |
26,799 |
17.0 |
28,812 |
18.3 |
7.6§ |
Female |
17,183 |
10.6 |
18,243 |
11.1 |
4.7§ |
Age group (yrs) |
|||||
0–14 |
105 |
0.2 |
109 |
0.2 |
0.0 |
15–24 |
3,664 |
8.3 |
3,798 |
8.6 |
3.6 |
25–34 |
8,947 |
20.9 |
10,055 |
23.1 |
10.5§ |
35–44 |
9,320 |
23.0 |
10,134 |
25.0 |
8.7§ |
45–54 |
12,045 |
27.5 |
12,263 |
28.2 |
2.5 |
55–64 |
7,551 |
19.2 |
8,122 |
20.3 |
5.7§ |
≥65 |
2,344 |
5.2 |
2,568 |
5.6 |
7.7§ |
Race and Hispanic origin† |
|||||
White, non-Hispanic |
35,581 |
17.6 |
37,945 |
19.0 |
8.0§ |
Black, non-Hispanic |
3,928 |
9.7 |
4,323 |
10.5 |
8.2§ |
Hispanic |
3,345 |
6.7 |
3,504 |
6.7 |
0.0 |
Census region of residence |
|||||
Northeast |
8,403 |
14.8 |
9,077 |
16.1 |
8.8§ |
Midwest |
9,745 |
14.6 |
10,647 |
16.0 |
9.6§ |
South |
15,519 |
13.1 |
16,777 |
14.0 |
6.9§ |
West |
10,315 |
13.6 |
10,554 |
13.7 |
0.7 |
State of residence |
|||||
Alabama |
598 |
12.7 |
723 |
15.2 |
19.7§ |
Alaska |
105 |
14.4 |
124 |
16.8 |
16.7 |
Arizona |
1,222 |
18.7 |
1,211 |
18.2 |
-2.7 |
Arkansas |
319 |
11.1 |
356 |
12.6 |
13.5 |
California |
4,452 |
11.1 |
4,521 |
11.1 |
0.0 |
Colorado |
846 |
15.5 |
899 |
16.3 |
5.2 |
Connecticut |
582 |
16.0 |
623 |
17.6 |
10.0 |
Delaware |
166 |
18.7 |
189 |
20.9 |
11.8 |
District of Columbia |
102 |
15.0 |
96 |
14.2 |
-5.3 |
Florida |
2,474 |
12.6 |
2,634 |
13.2 |
4.8 |
Georgia |
1,098 |
10.8 |
1,206 |
11.9 |
10.2§ |
Hawaii |
158 |
11.0 |
157 |
10.9 |
-0.9 |
Idaho |
207 |
13.4 |
212 |
13.7 |
2.2 |
Illinois |
1,579 |
12.1 |
1,705 |
13.1 |
8.3§ |
Indiana |
1,064 |
16.6 |
1,172 |
18.2 |
9.6§ |
Iowa |
275 |
9.3 |
264 |
8.8 |
-5.4 |
Kansas |
331 |
12.0 |
332 |
11.7 |
-2.5 |
Kentucky |
1,019 |
23.7 |
1,077 |
24.7 |
4.2 |
Louisiana |
809 |
17.8 |
777 |
16.9 |
-5.1 |
Maine |
174 |
13.2 |
216 |
16.8 |
27.3§ |
Maryland |
892 |
14.6 |
1,070 |
17.4 |
19.2§ |
Massachusetts |
1,081 |
16.0 |
1,289 |
19.0 |
18.8§ |
Michigan |
1,553 |
15.9 |
1,762 |
18.0 |
13.2§ |
Minnesota |
523 |
9.6 |
517 |
9.6 |
0.0 |
Mississippi |
316 |
10.8 |
336 |
11.6 |
7.4 |
Missouri |
1,025 |
17.5 |
1,067 |
18.2 |
4.0 |
Montana |
137 |
14.5 |
125 |
12.4 |
-14.5 |
Nebraska |
117 |
6.5 |
125 |
7.2 |
10.8 |
Nevada |
614 |
21.1 |
545 |
18.4 |
-12.8 |
New Hampshire |
203 |
15.1 |
334 |
26.2 |
73.5§ |
New Jersey |
1,294 |
14.5 |
1,253 |
14.0 |
-3.4 |
New Mexico |
458 |
22.6 |
547 |
27.3 |
20.8§ |
New York |
2,309 |
11.3 |
2,300 |
11.3 |
0.0 |
North Carolina |
1,259 |
12.9 |
1,358 |
13.8 |
7.0 |
North Dakota |
20 |
2.8 |
43 |
6.3 |
125.0§ |
Ohio |
2,347 |
20.8 |
2,744 |
24.6 |
18.3§ |
Oklahoma |
790 |
20.6 |
777 |
20.3 |
-1.5 |
Oregon |
455 |
11.3 |
522 |
12.8 |
13.3 |
Pennsylvania | 2,426 | 19.4 | 2,732 | 21.9 | 12.9§ |
Rhode Island | 241 | 22.4 | 247 | 23.4 | 4.5 |
South Carolina | 620 | 13.0 | 701 | 14.4 | 10.8 |
South Dakota | 55 | 6.9 | 63 | 7.8 | 13.0 |
Tennessee | 1,187 | 18.1 | 1,269 | 19.5 | 7.7 |
Texas | 2,446 | 9.3 | 2,601 | 9.7 | 4.3 |
Utah | 594 | 22.1 | 603 | 22.4 | 1.4 |
Vermont | 93 | 15.1 | 83 | 13.9 | 7.9 |
Virginia | 854 | 10.2 | 900 | 11.7 | 14.7§ |
Washington | 969 | 13.4 | 979 | 13.3 | .07 |
West Virginia | 570 | 32.2 | 627 | 35.5 | 10.2 |
Wisconsin | 856 | 15.0 | 853 | 15.1 | 0.7 |
Wyoming | 98 | 17.02 | 109 | 19.4 | 12.8 |