Opioid victims are becoming younger and more numerous in Canada, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Toronto.
Their report, “Identifying the changing age distribution of opioid-related mortality with high-frequency data,” was published in April in the academic journal PLOS ONE. Its central finding was chilling: Death from opioid overdoses soared exponentially from 2003 to 2020 in Canada, rising 500 percent. As the mortality base broadened, the average victim also got younger. The typical opioid OD patient in Canada is now in the mid-30s. A total of 11,633 people had died from opioid misuse in the province during this period, according to researchers Patrick Brown, Lauren A. Paul, Ye Li, Pamela Leece, Tara Gomes, Ahmed M. Bayoumi, Jeremy Herring and Regan Murray, who sifted through health data compiled by the Office of the Chief Coroner for Ontario. Although 72 percent of the victims in the 15- to 69-year-old target group were male, deaths rose dramatically in all demographic categories. In 2003, the highest opioid death rate for men was seen at age 44. By 2020, the peak age for males had dropped to 35. The peak age for opioid death for women was 51 in 2003 and 37 in 2020. The authors noted that during this same approximate period, opioid deaths rose nearly 400 percent in the U.S. Disturbing as the findings are, the data indicate that these trends have not stabilized. The number of opioid victims in Canada will continue to grow, and the peak age of death can be expected to fall further. The authors note that there was a brief improvement in opioid mortality rates in Ontario in 2019, which was quickly erased with the onset of COVID in early 2020. In fact, the epidemic of isolation, depression and social pathologies that took hold in the wake of COVID and pandemic-related lockdowns made the situation much worse, according to the report: “In Canada, opioid-related mortality increased from 7.8 deaths per 100,000 persons to 16.7 deaths per 100,000 persons between 2016 and 2020, and had already reached a rate of 19.6 deaths per 100,000 persons in the first quarter (January to March) of 2021. Ontario … has seen a particularly large increase in opioid-related mortality over the last two decades; mortality rates jumped more than fivefold between 2003 and 2020. Of particular note, there was a 79% increase in the number of opioid-related deaths between February 2020 (the month prior to Ontario’s state of emergency declaration) and December 2020.” Beyond the pandemic, a key factor contributing to these worsening statistics has been the spread of synthetic opioids: “Large increases in morbidity and mortality involving opioid drugs were initially attributed to over-prescribing of opioids for pain. As prescribing rates slowed, following widespread recognition of the risks of opioid analgesics and close monitoring/regulation of prescribing, several regions observed some stabilization or decline in deaths from prescription opioids. However, due to the emergence of highly potent non-pharmaceutical opioid drugs such as fentanyl and fentanyl analogs, deaths from synthetic opioids have continued to rise.” The prospect of an economic downturn in the near future threatens to accelerate the pace of opioid deaths. The authors advocate a comprehensive approach to address the deepening crisis: “This analysis may inform a refocusing of public health strategy for reducing rising rates of opioid-related mortality, including effectively reaching both older and younger males, as well as young females, with health and social supports such as treatment and harm reduction measures.” Comments are closed.
|
AuthorDr. Angela Carol MD,CCFP,FCFP is a family physician focused on treating chronic illnesses. Archives
May 2022
Categories |