Altekruse S, Cosgrove C, Altekruse W, Jenkins R, Blanco C. (2020). Socioeconomic risk factors for fatal opioid overdoses in the United States: Findings from the Mortality Disparities in American Communities study (MDAC). PLOS ONE. 15(1): e0227966. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0227966
Researchers created a nationally representative database of almost 4 million U.S. residents aged 10 to 59 years (2008 American Community Survey (ACS) responses linked to 2008–2015 National Death Index mortality cases) to calculate risk of fatal opioid overdose across demographic and socioeconomic variables. Modeled data revealed that opioid overdose was an overrepresented cause of death in individuals aged 10 to 59 years. Specific groups experience elevated risk of fatal opioid overdose: citizens (4.62 times greater risk than non-citizens), individuals with disabilities (2.80 times greater risk than non-disabled individuals), incarcerated individuals (2.70 times greater risk than non-incarcerated individuals), Whites and American Indians/Alaska Natives (2.52 times greater risk than Hispanics), high school-educated individuals (2.48 times greater risk than individuals with graduate degrees), unemployed individuals (2.46 times greater risk than employed individuals), widowed individuals (2.44 times greater risk than married individuals), men (1.61 greater risk than women), individuals in Mountain states (1.58 times greater risk than individuals in West North Central states), non-rural residents (1.46 times greater risk than rural residents), individuals who lived in poverty (1.36 times greater risk than individuals in households at least 5 times above the poverty line), and individuals without health insurance (1.30 times greater risk than health-insured individuals). Opioid fatality appears to correlate with indicators of low socioeconomic status (e.g. income, educational attainment, and occupational status). Results could inform prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation of at-risk populations.