US death rates from suicide, alcohol and drug overdoses reach record: Report
The death rate from suicides, drug overdoses and alcohol have reached an all-time high in the United States, especially among young adults, according to a new report.
The study, published Thursday by the non-profit Trust for America's Health and Well Being Trust, found that drug-related deaths among people 18 to 34 soared 108 percent between 2007 and 2017, while alcohol deaths were up 69 percent and suicides increased 35 percent.
The report highlights the despair young Americans face and the pressure on the health care system to respond to a crisis that shows little sign of abating.
The study, which analyzed data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), found the increases for these three "deaths of despair" among Millennials were higher than for senior citizens.
The Millennial generation is typically defined as people born between 1981 and 1996 - so are 23 to 38 years old today - although some definitions include young people born through 2000.
The demographic group makes up about a third of the US workforce and the military.
"There is a critical need for targeted programs that address Millennials’ health, well-being and economic opportunity," says John Auerbach, CEO of the Trust for America's Health and Massachusetts' former health secretary.
The growing levels of college debt, the cost of housing and the challenge of building careers during the "great recession" and the opioid crisis are placing a great pressure on Millennials, Auerbach said.
A separate report released Wednesday by the Commonwealth Fund showed that drug overdose deaths more than doubled across the US between 2005 and 2017. The suicide rates rose 30 percent during the same time, while deaths attributed to alcohol increased 10 percent.
The state of West Virginia had the highest drug overdose death rates, fueled mostly by the opioid epidemic. What's more, those rates rose by 450 percent from 2005 to 2017, according to the report.
“When we look at what’s going on in mid-Atlantic states — West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania — those are the states that have the highest rates of drug overdose deaths in the country," said David Radley, a senior scientist for the Commonwealth Fund.
Overdoses were a major factor when US life expectancy dropped slightly in 2015 for the first time in decades.
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