Drug Overdose - U.S. Death Rates Increase For 11th Consecutive Year

Fatal drug overdoses are still on the rise in the U.S.

The death rate due to drug overdoses has increased for the 11th consecutive year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  

"The big picture is that this is a big problem that has gotten much worse quickly," said Dr. Thomas Frieden, head of the CDC.

Accidents involving highly addictive painkillers were responsible for the majority of fatal drug overdoses.

There were 38,329 overdose fatalities in 2010, according to the CDC, while 60 percent of the deaths involved mostly prescription drugs and not illicit narcotics.

The CDC's findings were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association and reveal what drugs, in particular, were responsible for the most overdose-related deaths.

Opioid drugs, like in previous years, proved to be the biggest cause of death--accounting for three out of four medication overdose fatalities.

Frieden expressed concern over the idea that these types of painkillers, that include drugs like OxyContin and Vicodin, are overly prescribed by doctors who do not take into consideration how addictive they can be.

While Frieden recognized that opioids are suitable for cancer patients, he also said that people who suffer from back pain or migraines might be at risk if they use these addictive drugs.

In 2010, medication-related deaths were responsible for 22,134 of all overdose-related deaths.

Valium, an anti-anxiety medication, was one of the more common culprits of medication-related deaths and was involved in about 30 percent of overdose fatalities.

And although it is sometimes difficult to discern if a fatal overdose was intentional or accidental based on death certificates, Dr. Rich Zane-chair of emergency medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, said that it seems as though more serious cases of painkiller overdoses appear to be accidental.

"The results are consistent with what we experience" in the ER, he said. Zane was not surprised by the results of the data and also noted that statistics have definitely gotten grimmer since 2010.

(SOURCE)