New Release on Drug Overdose Deaths in the United States, 1999–2018

NCHS Data Brief, Number 356, January 2020

New Release on Drug Overdose Deaths in the United States, 1999–2018

Drug Overdose Deaths in the United States, 1999–2018

Key findings
Data from the National Vital Statistics System, Mortality

• In 2018, there were 67,367 drug overdose deaths in the United States, a 4.1% decline from 2017 (70,237 deaths).
• The age-adjusted rate of drug overdose deaths in 2018 (20.7 per 100,000) was 4.6% lower than in 2017 (21.7).
• For 14 states and the District of Columbia, the drug overdose death rate was lower in 2018 than in 2017.
• The rate of drug overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids other than methadone (drugs such as fentanyl, fentanyl analogs, and tramadol) increased by 10%, from 9.0 in 2017 to 9.9 in 2018.
• From 2012 through 2018, the rate of drug overdose deaths involving cocaine more than tripled (from 1.4 to 4.5) and the rate for deaths involving psychostimulants with abuse potential (drugs such as methamphetamine) increased nearly 5-fold (from 0.8 to 3.9).

Keywords

​opioids, heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, National Vital Statistics System Mortality File

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