Drug overdoses leading cause of injury death in U.S., report says

Drug overdoses are the leading cause of injury deaths in the U.S. and take nearly 44,000 lives per year, according to the latest version of an annual report.

“The Facts Hurt,” a report recently released by the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, found that injuries overall are responsible for nearly 193,000 deaths per year, making them the leading cause of death for Americans ages 1 to 44 . Overdose deaths have more than doubled in the past 14 years and now exceed motor vehicle-related deaths in 36 states and Washington, D.C., the report said.

Half of the annual overdose deaths are related to prescription drugs, which more than 2 million Americans misuse, the report stated. This prescription drug epidemic has led to an increase in heroin use, with the number of new heroin users doubling over the past 7 years, according to the report. But the report also noted an increase in “rescue drug” laws that expand access to and use of naloxone; 34 states and Washington, D.C., now have them, double the number in 2013, according to the report. The report also noted that every state except Missouri has some form of prescription drug monitoring program, although only half require mandatory use by prescribers in certain circumstances.

Suicide rates have remained stable for the past 20 years (41,000 per year), although more than 1 million adults attempt suicide and 17% of teens seriously consider suicide each year, the report said. Falls are the most common nonfatal injuries—with 1 in 3 Americans over age 64 experiencing a serious fall each year—and they are expected to increase with the aging population, according to the report. Traumatic brain injuries from sports and recreation among children have increased by 60% in the past decade, the report said.

Rates of motor vehicle deaths have declined 25% in the past decade to 33,000 per year, according to the report. Homicide rates have dropped 42% in the past 20 years to 16,000 per year, although the rate of homicide deaths among black male youth (ages 10 to 24) is 10 times higher than among the overall population, and 1 in 3 female homicide victims is killed by an intimate partner, the report stated.