Citation

Ranade R, Wunder J, Terzian M, Ungureanu I. J. Public Health Manag. Pract. 2020; 26(3): 291-293.

Affiliation

Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, Arlington, Virginia.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

10.1097/PHH.0000000000001161

PMID

32235210

Abstract

The opioid epidemic in the United States has garnered widespread attention and substantial investments in prevention over the last decade as the number of opioid overdoses rose exponentially. The age-adjusted rate of overdose deaths increased by 9.6% from 2016 to 2017, resulting in 47 600 opioid-related overdose deaths in 2017.1 An increase in suicide deaths during the same time period mirrors the trend in opioid overdose deaths, yet it has received less national attention. The 47 173 suicide deaths in 2017 represent a 33% increase and the largest annual increase since 1999.2,3 Emerging data indicate that the increases in opioid overdose and suicide are interconnected,4 but strategies that address the intersections between opioid use, overdose, and suicide have been largely unexamined.

Both opioid overdose and suicide are serious and preventable public health issues. Sometimes collectively referred to as “diseases of despair,”5 they share several risk and protective factors and are closely interrelated. Individuals who experience a nonfatal opioid overdose face a significantly greater risk of later dying by suicide.6 According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, opiates are present in 20% of suicide deaths in the United States.7 This interconnection points to the potential benefits of collaboration and coordination between opioid prevention and suicide prevention efforts, and it offers an opportunity for states to leverage the infrastructure built around the opioid response to comprehensively address suicide and overdose prevention...

Language: en