US death rates from suicide, alcohol, and drug overdose skyrocket to all-time high

A new study confirms that deaths from drugs, alcohol, and/or suicide have reached record numbers.

According to the 2019 Scorecard on State Health System Performance, a study released by the Commonwealth Fund on Wednesday, the opioid epidemic and drug-related deaths continue to rise throughout the United States at alarming rates. West Virginia and Ohio notably out-pace the rest of the country.

With the highest rate of drug overdose deaths (57.8 per 100,000 residents) and the sharpest overdose mortality growth in recent history (10.5 deaths per 100,000 in 2005 to 57.8 in 2017 — a five-fold increase), West Virginia is by far the state hit the hardest by this crisis.

“The rate of growth in drug overdose deaths in West Virginia is absolutely mind-boggling,” said David Radley, a senior scientist for the Commonwealth Fund, to NBC News.

Nine other states, plus the District of Columbia, have seen at least a three-fold increase in overdose mortality since 2005.

Nationally, the rate of death from drug overdose more than doubled between 2005 and 2017. A 10% increase between 2016 and 2017 is also among the highest that the nation has ever seen within such a time frame.

The “Public Health Emergency” of the opioid crisis is not the only aspect to what the report calls “complex socioeconomic and behavioral health problems across the nation.”

Suicide rates have risen 30% since 2005. Between 2016 and 2017, they rose more sharply than at any one point in recent history.

With a growth rate that doubled from 2% to 4% in recent years, deaths attributed to alcohol have also increased rapidly.

Commonwealth Fund broke down these three categories into a state-by-state graph accessible to the public.