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Heroin Overdose Statistics

 

  • Drug overdose is the leading cause of mortality among heroin users in the U.S. [9].
  • Over half the deaths of heroin injectors are attributed to overdose [11], far exceeding the proportion of deaths due to AIDS or other causes [3,8,10,11,12].
  • In California, overdose deaths have increased 73% since 1990 and surpass deaths from firearms, homicides and AIDS [2].
  • In Los Angeles County in 2002, a total of 901 persons died of drug overdose. The drug overdose mortality rate for Los Angeles County slowly increased from 8.3 (748 deaths) in 1993 to 9.3 (901 deaths) in 2002, with an unexplained drop during 2000-2001 to a rate of 6.2 [6].
  • In 2002, Service Planning Area (SPA) 6 (South Los Angeles) had the highest mortality rate at 16.2 (124 deaths), followed by SPA 1(Antelope Valley) at 10.6 (34 deaths) and SPA 8 (South Bay) at 10.5 (159 deaths). However, SPA 2 (San Fernando Valley) had the greatest number of deaths (160 deaths) due to drug overdose, but a relatively low death rate (7.6) due to the large size of the population [6].
  • Drug overdose has ranked among the top 10 causes of premature death in Los Angeles County since 1993 [5].
  • In 2002, drug overdose was the 7th leading cause of premature death in Los Angeles County, exceeding premature deaths from stroke, HIV and diabetes [5].
  • Drug overdose was the 2nd leading cause of death in 2002 among individuals ages 25-44 in Los Angeles County, exceeding suicide, motor vehicle accidents, and HIV [5].
  • Among young adults ages 15-24 in Los Angeles County, drug overdose was the 4th leading cause of death in 2002 [5].
  • In Los Angeles County, drugs and alcohol were the leading causes of accidental death in 2002, exceeding the number of deaths caused by motor vehicle accidents [4].
  • Heroin was the leading primary drug involved in accidental deaths in Los Angeles County in 2002 [4].
  • The death rate from drug overdoses for African American males in Los Angeles County increased from 15 per 100,000 in 1999 to 23 per 100,000 in 2002. Among African American males in L.A. County, drug overdose was the 5th leading cause of premature death in 2002 [5].
  • Among both white males and white females ages 25-44, drug overdose was the #1 cause of death in 2002 [5].
  • In SPA 5 (West Los Angeles), drug overdose was the 2nd leading cause of premature death in 2002, exceeding homicide, lung cancer, and suicide [5].
  • In SPA 2 (San Fernando Valley), drug overdose was the 5th leading cause of premature death in 2002 [5].
  • Heroin was among the top 5 drugs in drug-related emergency room visits in L.A. County in 2002, accounting for 2,525 emergency room visits [7].
  • A recent research study found that among the 340 clients interviewed at 6 L.A. syringe exchange programs, 12% reported experiencing an overdose in the 12 months prior to the interview. People who overdosed were more likely to be under age 30, homeless, on parole, African American, and using other drugs in addition to heroin [1].
References
  1. Bluthenthal, Ricky N., Ph.D. California Syringe Exchange Program Study (CalSEP), 2001-2003.
  2. California Department of Health Services: Death Records. Available at http://www.applications.dhs.ca.gov/vsq/Default.asp
  3. CDC. Update: AIDS -- United States, 2000, MMWR. July 12, 2002; 51(27):592-595.
  4. County of Los Angeles, Department of Coroner. Annual Report 2002.
  5. County of Los Angeles, Department of Health Services. Mortality in Los Angeles County: Leading Causes of Death and Premature Death. 2002 Report.
  6. County of Los Angeles, Department of Health Services, Public Health Assessment and Epidemiology. Data provided by the Los Angeles Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Commission, 2/15/06.
  7. Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN). The DAWN Report. February 2004.
  8. Frischer M, Bloor M, Goldberg D, Clark J, Green S, McKeganey N. Mortality among injecting drug users: a critical reappraisal. J Epidemiol Community Health. Feb 1993, 47(1): 59-63.
  9. Joe GW, Simpson DD. Mortality rates among opioid addicts in a longitudinal study. AJPH, 1987; 77:347-348.
  10. Klatt EC, Mills NZ, Noguchi TT. Causes of death in hospitalized intravenous drug abusers. J Forensic Sci. Sep 1990; 35(5); 1143-1148.
  11. Sporer KA. Acute heroin overdose. Ann Intern Med. Apr 6 1999; 130(7): 584-590.
  12. Tyndall MW, Craib KJ, Currie S, Li K, O’Shaughnessy MV, Schechter MT. Impact of HIV infection on mortality in a cohort of injection drug users. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. Dec 1 2001; 28(4): 351-357.
Harm Reduction

L.A. Statistics

Drug overdose has ranked among the top 10 causes of premature death in Los Angeles County since 1993

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