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QuickStats: Drug Overdose Death Rates* Among Persons Aged ≥15 Years, by Age Group and Urban-Rural Status† — National Vital Statistics System, United States, 2020
Weekly / November 25, 2022 / 71(47);1503
* Deaths per 100,000 population; 95% CIs indicated by error bars. Drug overdose deaths were identified using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision underlying cause-of-death codes X40–X44 (unintentional), X60–X64 (suicide), X85 (homicide), or Y10–Y14 (undetermined intent).
† Urban-rural status is based on county of residence using the National Center for Health Statistics Urban-Rural Classification Scheme for Counties. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_02/sr02_166.pdf
During 2020, death rates for drug overdose causes were higher in urban areas than in rural areas for those aged 15–24 years (17.2 compared with 13.3), 45–64 years (43.4 compared with 33.5), and ≥65 years (10.0 compared with 6.2). Among adults aged 25–44, drug overdose death rates were not significantly different between urban and rural areas (50.3 compared with 51.6). Drug overdose death rates were lower for adults aged ≥65 years compared with other age groups in both urban and rural areas.
Source: National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics System, Mortality Data, 2020 (https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/deaths.htm); CDC Wonder online database. https://wonder.cdc.gov/ucd-icd10.html
Reported by: Ellen A. Kramarow, PhD, ebk4@cdc.gov, 301-458-4325; Betzaida Tejada-Vera, MS.
Suggested citation for this article: QuickStats: Drug Overdose Death Rates Among Persons Aged ≥15 Years, by Age Group and Urban-Rural Status — National Vital Statistics System, United States, 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2022;71:1503. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7147a3.
For more information on this topic, CDC recommends the following link: https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/index.html
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