Opioid crisis trims U.S. life expectancy, boosts hepatitis C: CDC

CDC Reports - Mortality in the United States, 2016
This report presents final 2016 U.S. mortality data on deaths and death rates by demographic and medical characteristics. These data provide information on mortality patterns among U.S. residents by variables such as sex, race and ethnicity, and cause of death. Life expectancy estimates, age-specific death rates, age-adjusted death rates by race and ethnicity and sex, 10 leading causes of death, and 10 leading causes of infant death were analyzed by comparing 2016 and 2015 final data

In 2016, a total of 2,744,248 resident deaths were registered in the United States—31,618 more deaths than in 2015. From 2015 to 2016, the age-adjusted death rate for the total population decreased 0.6%, but life expectancy at birth decreased 0.1 year. Age-specific death rates between 2015 and 2016 increased for younger age groups and decreased for older age groups. The age-adjusted death rate decreased for non-Hispanic white females and increased for non-Hispanic black males.

The 10 leading causes of death in 2016 remained the same as in 2015, although two causes exchanged ranks. Unintentional injuries, the fourth leading cause in 2015, became the third leading cause in 2016, while chronic lower respiratory diseases, the third leading cause in 2015, became the fourth leading cause in 2016. Age-adjusted death rates decreased for seven leading causes and increased for three. Life expectancy at birth decreased 0.1 year from 78.7 years in 2015 to 78.6 in 2016, largely because of increases in mortality from unintentional injuries, suicide, and Alzheimer’s disease, with unintentional injuries making the largest contribution. This is the second year in a row life expectancy has declined (1). Changes in death rates at younger ages have a larger impact on life expectancy than changes at older ages. The increases in death rates at the younger ages from 2015 to 2016 resulted in the decrease in life expectancy observed during that period.

In 2016, a total of 23,161 deaths occurred in children under age 1 year, which was 294 fewer infant deaths than in 2015. The leading causes of infant death were the same in 2016 and 2015. The only significant change among the 10 leading causes of infant death was a 7.3% decrease in the IMR for maternal complications.

Key findings

Data from the National Vital Statistics System
- Life expectancy for the U.S. population in 2016 was 78.6 years, a decrease of 0.1 year from 2015.
- The age-adjusted death rate decreased by 0.6% from 733.1 deaths per 100,000 standard population in 2015 to 728.8 in 2016.
- Age-specific death rates between 2015 and 2016 increased for younger age groups and decreased for older age groups.
- The 10 leading causes of death in 2016 remained the same as in 2015, although unintentional injuries became the third leading cause, while chronic lower respiratory diseases became the fourth.
- The infant mortality rate of 587.0 infant deaths per 100,000 live births in 2016 was not significantly different from the 2015 rate.
- The 10 leading causes of infant death in 2016 remained the same as in 2015.

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CDC Reports - Drug Overdose Deaths in the United States, 1999–2016

This report updates statistics on deaths from drug overdoses in the United States and includes information on trends since 1999 as well as key findings for 2016.

The rates of drug overdose deaths continued to increase. In 2016, the age-adjusted rate of drug overdose deaths (19.8 per 100,000) was more than three times the rate in 1999 (6.1). Rates increased for both males (from 8.2 in 1999 to 26.2 in 2016) and females (from 3.9 in 1999 to 13.4 in 2016). Rates also increased for all age groups studied. In 2016, among persons aged 15 and over, rates were highest for adults aged 25–34, 35–44, and 45–54, at about 35 per 100,000. From 2015 to 2016, drug overdose death rates increased 28% for persons aged 15–24, 29% for persons aged 25–34, 24% for persons aged 35–44, 15% for persons aged 45–54, 17% for persons aged 55–64, and 7% for persons aged 65 and over. In 2016, 22 states and the District of Columbia had age-adjusted drug overdose death rates that were statistically higher than the national rate; 5 states had rates that were comparable to the national rate; and 23 states had lower rates.

The pattern of drugs involved in drug overdose deaths has changed in recent years. The rate of drug overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids other than methadone (drugs such as fentanyl, fentanyl analogs, and tramadol) doubled in a single year from 3.1 per 100,000 in 2015 to 6.2 in 2016. Rates of drug overdose deaths involving heroin increased from 4.1 in 2015 to 4.9 in 2016. Rates of drug overdose deaths involving natural and semisynthetic opioids increased from 3.9 in 2015 to 4.4 in 2016.

Key findings 

Data from the National Vital Statistics System, Mortality
- In 2016, there were more than 63,600 drug overdose deaths in the United States.
- The age-adjusted rate of drug overdose deaths in 2016 (19.8 per 100,000) was 21% higher than the rate in 2015 (16.3).
- Among persons aged 15 and over, adults aged 25–34, 35–44, and 45–54 had the highest rates of drug overdose deaths in 2016 at around 35 per 100,000.
- West Virginia (52.0 per 100,000), Ohio (39.1), New Hampshire (39.0), the District of Columbia (38.8), and Pennsylvania (37.9) had the highest observed age-adjusted drug overdose death rates in 2016.
- The age-adjusted rate of drug overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids other than methadone (drugs such as fentanyl, fentanyl analogs, and tramadol) doubled between 2015 and 2016, from 3.1 to 6.2 per 100,000.
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Media

Opioid crisis trims U.S. life expectancy, boosts hepatitis C: CDC
Julie Steenhuysen

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The opioid crisis is rippling through the U.S. healthcare system, causing a spike in rates of hepatitis C related to increased opioid injections and reducing overall life expectancy among Americans, which has fallen for the second year in a row, U.S. health officials said on Thursday. Researchers used a national database that tracks substance abuse admissions to treatment facilities in all 50 U.S. states. They found a 133 percent increase in acute hepatitis C cases that coincided with a 93 percent increase in admissions for opioid injection between 2004 to 2014.

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Opioid Crisis Could Be Biggest Hit To U.S. Life Expectancy In A Century, CDC Says

By Nick Wing

A new report shows back-to-back years of declining life expectancy, and the CDC says a third straight year appears to be on the way.

The average American life expectancy ticked downward for the second straight year in 2016, on the back of surging drug overdose deaths, according to data released Thursday by the National Center for Health Statistics at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And while the nation hasn’t experienced a back-to-back drop in life expectancy since the 1960s, the CDC says the opioid crisis is shaping up to extend this decline for a third consecutive year, a milestone that hasn’t been seen since the Spanish flu pandemic in 1918.

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