Overdose deaths in the United States tied to the powerful synthetic opioid
fentanyl soared 279% from 2016 to 2021, health officials reported.With the nation reeling from continued drug overdose deaths, investigators
sought to identify trends in drug-related fatalities involving the five
most commonly involved opioids and stimulant drugs: fentanyl, heroin,
methamphetamine, cocaine and oxycodone.
fentanyl soared 279% from 2016 to 2021, health officials reported.With the nation reeling from continued drug overdose deaths, investigators
sought to identify trends in drug-related fatalities involving the five
most commonly involved opioids and stimulant drugs: fentanyl, heroin,
methamphetamine, cocaine and oxycodone.
In just five years, deaths involving fentanyl — the most frequently
implicated substance — rose from 6 per 100,000 people to 22 per 100,000,
according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“This continues to be a public health concern in the United States that we
should keep monitoring,” said lead researcher Merianne Rose Spencer, a
health statistician at CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics.
