Citation

Rossen LM, Khan D, Warner MA. Health Place 2013; 26C: 14-20.

Affiliation

Division of Vital Statistics, National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Hyattsville, MD 20782, United States.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.healthplace.2013.11.005

PMID

24333939

Abstract

Over the past several years, the death rate associated with drug poisoning has increased by over 300% in the U.S. Drug poisoning mortality varies widely by state, but geographic variation at the substate level has largely not been explored. National mortality data (2007-2009) and small area estimation methods were used to predict age-adjusted death rates due to drug poisoning at the county level, which were then mapped in order to explore: whether drug poisoning mortality clusters by county, and where hot and cold spots occur (i.e., groups of counties that evidence extremely high or low age-adjusted death rates due to drug poisoning). Results highlight several regions of the U.S. where the burden of drug poisoning mortality is especially high. Findings may help inform efforts to address the growing problem of drug poisoning mortality by indicating where the epidemic is concentrated geographically.

Language: en