Description: This indicator includes unintentional overdoses, homicides, and suicides from drug overdose. Death rate has been age-adjusted to the 2000 U.S. standard population. ICD-10 codes used to identify drug overdose related deaths are X40-X44, X60-X64, X85, and Y10-Y14.Drug overdose deaths have increased dramatically in the US over the past two decades. The first wave of deaths in the 1990s largely involved prescription opioids and was a consequence of increased prescribing of these drugs by medical providers. In the second wave that began in 2010, there was a rapid increase in the number of deaths involving heroin and, in the current wave that started in 2013, there has been a rise in the number of overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids, particularly illicitly manufactured fentanyl, which can be found in combination with heroin, counterfeit pills, cocaine, and other drugs. In Los Angeles County in recent years, the vast majority of all drug overdose deaths have involved fentanyl. Important inequities have been noted by sociodemographic characteristics, with low-income and Black individuals found to have the highest overdose death rates. Cities and communities can take an active role in preventing overdose deaths by promoting primary prevention and supporting evidence-based harm reduction and treatment strategies.For more information about the Community Health Profiles Data Initiative, please see the initiative homepage.
Copyright Text: Indicator generated by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. Data for calculating this indicator came from the following sources: [1] Los Angeles County Annual Death Files 2018-2021 and 2022 (Provisional), assembled from California Department of Public Health Vital Records Data. Office of Health Assessment & Epidemiology, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, June 2023; [2] County of Los Angeles, Internal Services Department, Information Technology Service, Urban Research-GIS Section, July 1, 2020 Population Estimates for Los Angeles County Tract-City and Countywide Statistical Area Splits by Age, Sex and Race/Ethnicity, Los Angeles, CA, April 2022.