Rising drug overdose deaths, particularly from opioids, have led to a decline in US life expectancy for the past two years according to a CDC report. Drug overdoses contributed to nearly 63,600 deaths in 2016, a 21% increase from 2015, with opioids causing around 42,000 deaths. This growing opioid crisis is being blamed for the downward shift in life expectancy, as increases in drug overdose deaths are now greater than declines in cardiovascular disease mortality. The report suggests the decline may continue into a third year if solutions are not implemented to address the opioid epidemic ravaging the nation.

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Rising Drug Overdose Deaths Lead to Decline in US Life Expectancy - Says CDC Report
Life expectancy in the United States dropped for the second consecutive year in 2016, fueled
by drug overdose deaths among young people, says a recent report released by the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). According to the data released by the CDC’s
National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) on Dec. 21, 2017, the life expectancy declined by
0.1 year to an average of 78.6 years in 2016. The continuous yearly fall in life expectancy is
attributed to increased death rates among young and middle-aged Americans. However, the
death rate registered a downward trend among Americans aged 65 and older between 2015
and 2016.
It is the first ever incidence of two straight annual declines in life expectancy since the 1962
deadly outbreak of influenza. According to the CDC, the growing opioid crisis in the country
can be blamed for this downward shift in the life expectancy. Bob Anderson, chief of the
mortality statistics branch at the NCHS, said that drug overdose deaths appeared to be key
driving factor in the life expectancy decline over the past two years.
“In the past, those drug
mortality increases have
been more than
completely offset by
declines in cardiovascular
disease mortality ― heart
disease and stroke mostly.
But now those declines
have slowed down and
kind of flattened out. And
as a result, these increases
in drug overdose mortality
are dominating the
picture for overall
mortality,” Anderson said.
Furthermore, Anderson expects the decline to continue for a third consecutive year in 2017.
In 2016, drug overdoses contributed to nearly 63,600 deaths, with opioids causing around
42,000 fatalities, as per the CDC. Overdose deaths recorded a staggering 21 percent increase
between 2015 and 2016. The CDC also said that overdose deaths related to synthetic opioids
like fentanyl and its analogs saw an average annual increase of 88 percent between 2013 and
2016.
Controlled prescription drugs and overdose deaths

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According to the 2017 National Drug Threat Assessment (NDTA), controlled prescription drugs
(CPDs) were responsible for a significantly high number of overdose deaths involving any illicit
drug class since 2001. The report also cited heroin use as greater risk for public health, which
alone or in combination with fentanyl and other synthetic opioids contributed to increased
number of overdose deaths in America. Notably, overdose deaths related to opioid pain
relievers and heroin grew by a whopping 200 percent since 2000, suggested the CDC.
Significantly, President Donald Trump recently declared the opioid crisis a public health
emergency. However, the President is currently facing criticism for not dealing with the
problem more aggressively. As the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
suggests, the funds allocated to address a public health emergency stand at only around
$57,000. In a November statement by the White House, the actual cost of the opioid epidemic
was estimated at over $500 billion in 2015. The amount witnessed more than six-fold increase
over the most recent estimates, from $78.5 billion in 2013 to $504.0 billion in 2015.
The current CDC report can give a push to actions directed at addressing the opioid epidemic
ravaging the entire nation. Anderson was upbeat that the data would help policymakers
understand the criticality of the situation and take effective measures to control the problem.
He emphasized that overdose deaths were preventable through strategic interventions.
Dealing with opioid abuse
In the United States, around 11.8 million people aged 12 or older (over 4 percent) misused
opioids in the past year, reveals the 2016 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH).
However, opioid addiction, which can be fatal, is treatable. Timely screening followed by
effective treatment can help restore sobriety in people with opioid addiction.
One can help people battling opioid addiction by encouraging them to seek professional help.
If you have a loved one grappling with an addiction, contact the Texas Drug Addiction
Treatment to know about the best treatment programs in your vicinity. Call at our 24/7
helpline number (855) 980-5757 to know more about top-notch drug addiction treatment
centers in Texas.