Drug overdose death rates in rural areas of the United States are now higher than in cities, a trend that worries federal health officials.
In 2015, drug overdose was the leading cause of injury-related death in the United States — with 52,000 fatalities attributed to opioid painkillers, heroin and other potentially deadly drugs, researchers said in a new report.
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald said rising overdose death rates outside metropolitan areas warrant attention. “We need to understand why this is happening so that our work with states and communities can help stop illicit drug use and overdose deaths in America,” Fitzgerald said in an agency news release.
The findings were published in the Oct. 20 issue of the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Read more at: https://www.webmd.com/drug-medication/news/20171020/drug-od-rate-now-higher-in-rural-us-than-cities#1
The report can be accessed at: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/66/ss/ss6619a1.htm?s_cid=ss6619a1_w
Source: WebMD.com – October 20, 2017
