Tracing the US Opioid Crisis to Its Roots
2019
This article from Nature examines the history of the opioid epidemic in the U.S., providing context to the current state of the crisis. Starting in 2015, life expectancy in the United States entered a period of sustained decline – falling from 78.8 years in 2015 to 78.5 years in 2016 and 2017. The decline in life expectancy is explained by an increase in drug overdoses and suicides linked to opioids. The article outlines the different stages of the opioid epidemic, beginning with prescription opioids, then heroin, and now synthetic opioids such as fentanyl. Between 1990 and 2010, there was a steady increase in deaths related to prescription opioid overdose. In response to this, state and federal agencies began to crack down on the availability of prescription opioids and Purdue Pharmaceuticals reformulated Oxycotin to make it more difficult to crush and inhale. The decrease in supply of prescription opioids, along with the increase in supply of heroin, caused users to switch as heroin was easier to obtain. Around 2013, dealers who wanted to increase profits began to mix heroin with synthetic opioids such as fentanyl. As synthetics are considerably more potent to heroin, overdose deaths from fentanyl and other synthetics increased by 88% per year. The article continues to provide further context into drug manufacturers and the health system in the U.S.
Tracing the US Opioid Crisis to Its Roots
Source:
DeWeerdt S. Tracing the US Opioid Crisis to Its Roots. Nature 2019; 573: 10-12. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-019-02686-2.