Evaluation of Increases in Drug Overdose Mortality Rates in the US by Race and Ethnicity Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Source:

Friedman JR, Hansen H. Evaluation of Increases in Drug Overdose Mortality Rates in the US by Race and Ethnicity Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic. JAMA Psychiatry. Published online March 02, 2022. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2022.0004

Drug overdose mortality rates have increased sharply in the US since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020.1 Since 2015, overdose deaths have been rising most rapidly among Black and Hispanic and Latino communities.2 The pandemic has since disproportionately worsened a wide range of health, social, and economic outcomes among racial and ethnic minoritized communities. Careful attention to examining these trends by race and ethnicity is therefore warranted. Here we evaluate increases in drug overdose mortality rates by race and ethnicity before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.