The Racial and Ethnic Disparities in U.S. Drug Overdose Death Rates

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FILE - In this June 6, 2017 file photo, an example of the amount of fentanyl that can be deadly after a news conference about deaths from fentanyl exposure, at DEA Headquarters in Arlington Va. The Justice Department’s inspector general says the Drug Enforcement Administration was “slow to respond” as America grappled with a rising opioid epidemic. The watchdog released a report Tuesday examining the agency’s regulatory and enforcement efforts to control opioids. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)
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According to a new study, middle-aged Black men and American Indians have disproportionately high death rates due to drug overdose.

From 2018 to 2021 the American Indian community and Alaska Native people had the highest rate of overdose deaths for 15 to 35-year-olds.

A report from JAMA Network Open revealed overdose death rates among Black men ages 35 to 64 were higher than any other demographic group in 2021. Additionally, deaths involving fentanyl nearly tripled for middle age Black men between 2018 and 2021.

Previously, American Indian and Alaska Native people, from 35 to 64, had the highest rate of overdose deaths in 2018.


Click play to listen to the AURN News report from Clay Cane. Follow @claycane & @aurnonline for more.

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