Life expectancy in the U.S. is falling — and drug overdose deaths are soaring

Women attend a candlelight vigil during the FED UP! Coalition’s annual International Overdose Awareness Day event in Washington in August. A new CDC report ESTIMATES 63,600 people died of drug overdoses in 2016.

What good is the CDC, if all they can do is ESTIMATE STATS ?

www.statnews.com/2017/12/21/life-expectancy-drug-overdose

Life expectancy in the U.S. has fallen for the second year in a row, the first time it’s dropped for two consecutive years in more than half a century.

People born in the U.S. in 2016 could expect to live 78.6 years on average, down from 78.7 the year before, according to a new report released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The most common cause of death: heart disease.

The report also found death rates — calculated from the number of deaths per 100,000 people — actually rose among young adults between 2015 and 2016. And while the authors didn’t draw a direct link, another report also released Thursday by the CDC found an estimated 63,600 people died of drug overdoses in 2016. Two-thirds of those deaths were caused by opioids. Adults between the ages of 25 and 54 had the highest rate of drug overdose death.

Here’s a look at the findings:

Most common causes of death

Heart disease was the leading cause of death, followed by cancer, unintentional injuries, chronic lower respiratory diseases, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, influenza and pneumonia, kidney disease, and suicide.

One key point: Unintentional injuries climbed to the third leading cause of death in 2016, swapping spots with chronic lower respiratory diseases. It’s worth noting that most drug overdose deaths are classified as unintentional injuries.

AS IF… NO ONE would use drugs – including ALCOHOL to commit SUICIDE ?

The most common causes of death

Cause of death Percent
Heart disease 23.1
Cancer 21.8
Unintentional injuries 5.9
Chronic lower respiratory disease 5.6
Stroke 5.2
Alzheimer’s disease 4.2
Diabetes 2.9
Flu and pneumonia 1.9
Kidney disease 1.8
Suicide 1.6
 
They kind of left out the 250,000 – 400,000 deaths from medical errors
Megan Thielking / STAT. Source: Mortality in the United States, 2016. National Center for Health Statistics.

Black men are dying at alarmingly high rates

Life expectancy isn’t falling for women — just for men. Life expectancy for women at birth is 81.1 years, compared to 76.1 years for men.

The death rate for the general population actually declined slightly in 2016, but that drop wasn’t seen across all racial and ethnic groups. Death rates among black men climbed 1 percent in 2016, while death rates among white women actually fell 1 percent. There weren’t any big changes in death rates among black women, white men, or Hispanic men or women.

Age-adjusted death rates

Group Age-adjusted death rate
General population 728.8
Black men 1,081.2
Black women 734.1
White men 879.5
White women 637.2
Hispanic men 631.8
Hispanic women 436.4
 
Megan Thielking / STAT. Source: Mortality in the United States, 2016. National Center for Health Statistics.

Drug overdose deaths continue to climb

Drug death rates are increasing much faster than they have in recent years. Overdose death rates climbed roughly 10 percent per year between 1999 and 2006. Then there was a relative lull: Between 2006 and 2014, they increased roughly 3 percent each year.

But from 2014 to 2016, death rates tied to drug overdoses jumped 18 percent each year.

Overdose deaths have climbed among all age groups

Year 15 to 24 25 to 34 35 to 44 45 to 54 55 to 64 65 and older
1999 3.2 8.1 14 11.1 4.2 2.7
2000 3.7 7.9 14.3 11.6 4.2 2.4
2001 4.2 8.6 15.5 13 4.7 2.6
2002 5.1 10.5 18.1 16.2 6 3
2003 6 11.4 18.9 17.9 6.9 3
2004 6.6 11.9 19.3 19.3 7.8 3
2005 6.9 13.6 19.6 21.2 9 3.3
2006 8.1 16.1 21.7 24.1 10.5 3.6
2007 8.2 16.8 21.4 25.1 12.2 3.8
2008 8 16.8 21.1 25.2 12.9 4.1
2009 7.7 17.2 20.5 25.4 13.7 4.3
2010 8.2 18.4 20.8 25.1 15 4.3
2011 8.6 20.2 22.5 26.7 15.9 4.6
2012 8 20.1 22.1 26.9 16.6 4.9
2013 8.3 20.9 23 27.5 19.2 5.2
2014 8.6 23.1 25 28.2 20.3 5.6
2015 9.7 26.9 28.3 30 21.8 5.8
2016 12.4 34.6 35 34.5 25.6 6.2
 
Megan Thielking / STAT. Source: Drug Overdose Deaths in the United States, 1999–2016. National Center for Health Statistics.

Deaths due to synthetic opioids are rising

The rate of overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids other than methadone — a category that includes fentanyl, fentanyl analogs, and tramadol — doubled between 2015 and 2016. The rate of drug overdose deaths involving natural and semisynthetic opioids, such as oxycodone and hydrocodone, also rose, while overdoses involving methadone declined.

The opioids most commonly involved in overdose deaths
Type of opioid 2015 2016
Any opioid 33,091 42,249
Heroin 12,989 15,469
Natural and semisynthetic 12,727 14,487
Methadone 3,301 3,373
Other synthetic opioids 9,580 19,413
63,600 deaths from DRUG OVERDOSES… but only 42,249 from all opiates – 33% of total estimated deaths from NON-OPIATES  and a lot of LUMPING TOGETHER of the causes of deaths ?
Megan Thielking / STAT. Source: Drug Overdose Deaths in the United States, 1999–2016. National Center for Health Statistics.

 

 

2 Responses

  1. They do not know what they are doing. Thirty years from now when history is written I know the historians will look at this as the “dark ages” in the care of chronic pain care. The doctors are not going to look good either because the entire American Medical Association did not stand up for the right thing. They know damn well that opioids work for chronic pain and they also know the “alternative” treatment does not work.

  2. JMO,,,GEE I wonder why deaths rose wth the threat and implementation of the cdc guidelines..Sooo the truth seems to be,,,since government practicing medicines,,,,MORE ARE DIEING,,,NOT LESS!!!!!PROOF IS IN THE PUDDING,,,,,ACCORDING TO THE CDC STATS,,,,,,MORE ARE DEAD,,,NOT LESS,,,,,,,,OBVIOUSLY DR.GOVERNMENT SHOULD GET THE HELL OUT OF OUR DOCTORS OFFICES,,,THEY ARE LITERALLY KILLING US,,,,SOO THE EVIDENCE WOULD SUGGEST,,,maryw

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