• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Addiction Treatment Forum

Addiction Treatment Forum

Addiction Treatment Forum reports on substance use news of interest to opioid treatment programs and patients in medication-assisted treatment.

  • Newsletter
  • Addiction Resources
  • Rx Methadone & Safety
  • Patient Brochures
  • Events
  • Related Websites

Research Traces Primary Cause of Opioid Epidemic—It’s Not Despair

February 11, 2018 by ATForum

“Why did America become so addicted to opioids?

That question is at the heart of University of Virginia economist Christopher Ruhm’s research on opioid overdoses from 1999 to 2015. What he found sheds new light on what has been characterized in the media as a mostly economic problem – so-called “deaths of despair,” driven by economic downturns in certain parts of the country like the Rust Belt or Appalachia.

Ruhm, a professor of public policy and economics in UVA’s Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, tracked fatal overdoses at the county level across the country and compared those rates with economic factors like labor market conditions, income levels, housing prices and international trade exposure in each county.

His research – currently a working paper – concludes that economic conditions account for less than 10 percent of drug-related fatalities, which have increased by more than 210 percent from 1999 to 2015.

“It was less than 10 percent; possibly much less given the presence of other factors,” Ruhm said.”

Read more at: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-01-primary-opioid-epidemicit-despair.html

Source: MedicalXpress.com – January 28, 2018

Filed Under: 2018, News Updates

Primary Sidebar

Upcoming Events

AATOD
April 10-14, 2021
Las Vegas, NV
https://www.eventscribe.com/2021/AATOD/

The Americam Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) 51th Annual Medical-Scientific Conference
Thursday, April 22, 2021 to Saturday, April 24, 2021
Virtual
https://www.drugabuse.gov/news-events/meetings-events/2021/04/americam-society-addiction-medicine-asam-51th-annual-medical-scientific-conference

APA 2021 Annual Meeting
Saturday, May 1, 2021 to Wednesday, May 5, 2021
Los Angeles, California
https://www.drugabuse.gov/news-events/meetings-events/2021/05/apa-2021-annual-meeting

View More Upcoming Events…

ATForum.com

  • Newsletter
  • Addiction Resources
  • Rx Methadone & Safety
  • Patient Education Brochures
  • Events
  • Related Websites

Addiction Resources

  • Addiction and Recovery
  • Addiction Treatment Forum
  • Books and Booklets of Interest
  • Drug Screening and Testing
  • Evidence-Based Addiction Medicine
  • Government
  • Health Care Reform
  • Hepatitis, HIV/AIDS
  • Medication-Assisted Treatment
  • Mental Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Online Continuing Education Free Training Modules

Footer

Addiction Treatment Forum is produced by an independent medical communications agency. Commercial advertising is not accepted.
Published by Clinco Communications, Inc.
About Us
Contact Us
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use
Follow Us

This educational resource is supported by Hikma Pharmaceuticals USA Inc.

Sign up for News!

Select list(s) to subscribe to


By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: Clinco Communications, Inc., 1808 N. Arlington Heights Road, Arlington Heights, IL, 60004, http://www.atforum.com. You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact

© 2021 Addiction Treatment Forum · All Rights Reserved