By MIKE STOBBE (AP Medical Writer)
NEW YORK (AP) — The final federal data released on Thursday shows that nearly 108,000 Americans lost their lives due to drug overdoses in 2022.
Over the past twenty years, the number of overdose deaths in the U.S. has increased nearly every year, breaking annual records and creating the most severe overdose epidemic in American history.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported the official count for 2022 as 107,941, which is approximately 1% higher than the nearly 107,000 overdose deaths in 2021.
Earlier estimates indicated over 109,000 overdose deaths in 2022, but these included all overdose deaths, while the final numbers are limited to U.S. residents.
The report mentioned that the female overdose death rate decreased for the first time in five years, while the male overdose death rate continued to slightly rise. About 70% of U.S. overdose deaths are males.
Although the overall drug overdose death rate increased from 2021 to 2022, the rise was so small that it was not considered statistically significant.
The CDC has not yet released overdose numbers for last year, but provisional data for the first ten months of 2023 suggest stable overdose deaths in 2023.
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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
