Study: Opioid overdoses spiked in 2020 compared to pre-pandemic

A new study in JAMA Psychiatry reveals that emergency department (ED) visits for drug overdoses, suicide attempts, and mental health conditions were significantly higher in 2020 compared with the same period in 2019. The study analyzed nearly 190 million ED visits and found significantly higher rates for opioid overdoses from mid-March to October 2020 compared with the same dates in 2019. The figures may reflect changes in the illicit drug supply during the pandemic, that people used opioids in higher-risk ways, or that they lacked access to naloxone or other risk-reduction services, the study suggests. Weekly counts of all drug and opioid overdoses increased by as much as 45% from mid-April to October 2020 compared with the same period of 2019.