Healio (4/3, VanDewater) reports, “From 2002 to 2021, the rate of drug overdose death among people aged 65 years or older quadrupled, “investigators concluded in a study that “evaluated the annual overdose mortality rate among U.S. adults aged 65 years and older using data from the CDC WONDER database.” Additionally, “for 2021 data, the researchers…evaluated characteristics of intentional and unintentional overdose death, drug type and decedent demographics.” The study also revealed that “most unintentional overdoses involved illegal drugs and most intentional overdoses involved prescription” medications. The findings were published online March 29 in a research letter JAMA Psychiatry.
Related Links:
— “Geriatric drug overdose deaths in US quadrupled over 20 years “Kalie VanDewater, Healio, April 3, 2023