Driven by the use of synthetic opioids, opioid-related mortality has rapidly increased in the eastern US, a new study found. Researchers conducted a cross-sectional study to assess changes in the geographical distribution of opioid-related mortality across the US by opioid type from 1999‒2016. They found:

• During the study period, a total of 231,264 men and 120,366 women died from opioid-related causes across the entire US.
• Opioid-related mortality rates, especially from synthetic opioids, rapidly increased in all of the eastern US.
• The age-standardized mortality rate from opioids increased more than 2-fold every 2 years in 24 eastern states.
• The life expectancy lost at age 15 from opioids is now greater than that lost from deaths due to firearms or motor vehicle crashes in most of the US.