Deadliest Year: Opioid On Rise In 2016, Iowa Below U.S. Average

More than 63,600 Americans died of drug overdoses in 2016, and about two thirds of those deaths were attributed to opioid-related overdoses, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported this week. The figures mark the deadliest year on record for overdose deaths in the United States, with 93 people in the country dying per day of opioid overdoses.

According to the CDC, 22 states and the District of Columbia exceed the national average death rate. Iowa falls well below the national average and ranks 46th for the number of opioid deaths, with a decline from 2014 to 2015.

Of all 50 states, West Virginia (52), Ohio (39.1), New Hampshire (39) and Pennsylvania (37.9) had the highest drug overdose death rates.

Drug overdose death rates were significantly higher for men than women, though both groups have been affected by the increase. The CDC reported that for men the rate increased from 8.2 in 1999 to 26.2 in 2016; for women the rate increased from 3.9 to 13.4 in the same period. Rates of drug overdose deaths increased for all age groups the CDC studied and was highest among those aged 25 to 54.

The overdose death rate released by the CDC exceeds the peak number of deaths during the AIDS crisis in 1995, the peak number of gun-related deaths in 1993, and the peak number of car crash deaths in 1972. The figure is also greater than the number of American soldiers who died during the Vietnam War.

Of the 42,249 opioid overdose deaths reported in 2016, the majority were due to synthetic opioids such as fentanyl (not including methadone). The CDC notes the rate of overdose deaths involving such substances nearly doubled in a single year (3.1 per 100,000 in 2015 to 6.2 in 2016). More than 14,000 overdose deaths attributed to drugs like hydrocodone and oxycodone while over 15,000 overdose deaths were due to heroin use.

In October, President Trump declared the opioid crisis a public health emergency in the United States, but the declaration didn't bring any new money to fight the scourge. In late November, Trump appointed Kellyanne Conway to lead the administration's efforts to address the nation's opioid epidemic.

In addition, Iowa is one of fives states that does not fund any of the three overdose prevention programs coordinated by the CDC to give states resources to address the epidemic.

Another report released by the CDC on Thursday shows a decline in the life expectancy in 2016 for the second consecutive year, fueled by a rise in drug overdose deaths.

Preliminary data for drug overdose deaths in 2017 only shows the numbers going up.

Feroze Dhanoa compiled this report for Patch. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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