Citation

Joshi S, Weiser T, Warren-Mears V. MMWR Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep. 2018; 67(50): 1384-1387.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, (in public domain), Publisher U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

DOI

10.15585/mmwr.mm6750a2

PMID

30571673

Abstract

The opioid epidemic has resulted in a threefold increase in drug overdose deaths in the United States during 1999-2015 (1). Whereas American Indians/Alaska Natives (AI/AN) have experienced larger increases in drug overdose mortality than have other racial/ethnic groups in the United States (2), little is known about the regional impact of opioids in tribal and urban AI/AN communities. To address this data gap, death records from the Washington State Center for Health Statistics, corrected for misclassification of AI/AN race, were examined to identify trends and disparities in drug, opioid-involved, and heroin-involved overdose mortality rates for AI/AN and non-Hispanic whites (whites) in Washington. Although AI/AN and whites had similar overdose mortality rates during 1999-2001, subsequent overdose rates among AI/AN increased at a faster rate than did those among whites. During 2013-2015, mortality rates among AI/AN were 2.7 and 4.1 times higher than rates among whites for total drug and opioid-involved overdoses and heroin-involved overdoses, respectively. Washington death certificates that were not corrected for misclassification of AI/AN race underestimated drug overdose mortality rates among AI/AN by approximately 40%. National statistics on the opioid epidemic, which report that overdose mortality rates are significantly higher among whites than among AI/AN, are not reflective of regional prevalences, disparities, and trends. Comprehensive efforts to address the opioid epidemic in AI/AN communities rely on strong partnerships between tribal governments and local, state, and federal entities. Additional measures are needed for community-based surveillance, treatment, and prevention to effectively respond to the epidemic across diverse tribal and urban AI/AN communities.

Language: en