Table 1. Drugs Involved, Decedent Demographic Characteristics, and Urbanicity by Buprenorphine and Other Opioid Involvement in 47 Jurisdictions From July 2019 to June 2021a.
| Characteristic | Overdose deaths, No. (%) [95% CI] | |
|---|---|---|
| Buprenorphine-involved (n = 2238) | Other opioid–involved (n = 93 128)b | |
| Drugs involved | ||
| Any other drug | 2074 (92.7) [91.5-93.7] | 62 614 (67.2) [66.9-67.5] |
| Other opioid | ||
| Any | 1334 (59.6) [57.5-61.7] | 93 128 (100.0) [NA] |
| Illicitly manufactured fentanyls | 1123 (50.2) [48.1-52.3] | 79 438 (85.3) [85.1-85.5] |
| Cocaine | 474 (21.2) [19.5-22.9] | 23 698 (25.4) [25.2-25.7] |
| Methamphetamine | 478 (21.4) [19.7-23.1] | 17 617 (18.9) [18.7-19.2] |
| Prescription stimulants | 101 (4.5) [3.7-5.5] | 1570 (1.7) [1.6-1.8] |
| Benzodiazepines | 826 (36.9) [34.9-39.0] | 13 522 (14.5) [14.3-14.8] |
| Antidepressants | 312 (13.9) [12.5-15.5] | 4628 (5.0) [4.8-5.1] |
| Anticonvulsants | 416 (18.6) [17.0-20.3] | 5003 (5.4) [5.2-5.5] |
| Cannabis | 57 (2.5) [1.9-3.3] | 1058 (1.1) [1.1-1.2] |
| Alcohol | 355 (15.9) [14.4-17.4] | 15 925 (17.1) [16.9-17.3] |
| Sex | ||
| Male | 1429 (63.9) [61.8-65.9] | 66 060 (70.9) [70.6-71.2] |
| Female | 809 (36.1) [34.2-38.2] | 27 066 (29.1) [28.8-29.4] |
| Missing or unknownc | 0 | 2 |
| Age, y | ||
| Median (IQR) | 41 (34-51) | 40 (31-52) |
| <18 | 4 (0.2) [0.1-0.5] | 540 (0.6) [0.5-0.6] |
| 18-24 | 87 (3.9) [3.1-4.8] | 7031 (7.6) [7.4-7.7] |
| 25-34 | 506 (22.6) [20.9-24.4] | 24 594 (26.4) [26.1-26.7] |
| 35-44 | 736 (32.9) [30.9-34.9] | 24 379 (26.2) [25.9-26.5] |
| 45-54 | 486 (21.7) [20.0-23.5] | 18 641 (20.0) [19.8-20.3] |
| 55-64 | 358 (16.0) [14.5-17.6] | 14 500 (15.6) [15.3-15.8] |
| ≥65 | 61 (2.7) [2.1-3.5] | 3436 (3.7) [3.6-3.8] |
| Missing or unknownc | 0 | 7 |
| Race and ethnicity | ||
| American Indian or Alaska Native, non-Hispanic | 32 (1.4) [1.0-2.0] | 981 (1.1) [1.0-1.1] |
| Asian or other Pacific Islander, non-Hispanic | 9 (0.4) [0.2-0.8] | 549 (0.6) [0.6-0.7] |
| Black, non-Hispanic | 127 (5.7) [4.8-6.8] | 17 332 (18.8) [18.5-19.0] |
| Hispanic | 122 (5.5) [4.6-6.5] | 8662 (9.4) [9.2-9.6] |
| Multiple races, non-Hispanic | 18 (0.8) [0.5-1.3] | 744 (0.8) [0.8-0.9] |
| White, non-Hispanic | 1915 (86.1) [84.6-87.6] | 64 113 (69.4) [69.1-69.7] |
| Missing or unknownc | 15 | 747 |
| Education | ||
| <High school degree | 479 (21.9) [20.2-23.7] | 18 664 (20.7) [20.5-21.0] |
| High school degree or GED | 1175 (53.8) [51.7-55.9] | 47 888 (53.1) [52.8-53.5] |
| Some college or Associate’s degree | 417 (19.1) [17.5-20.8] | 18 127 (20.1) [19.9-20.4] |
| ≥Bachelor’s degree | 113 (5.2) [4.3-6.2] | 5430 (6.0) [5.9-6.2] |
| Urbanicity of decedent’s county of residenced | ||
| Large central metropolitan | 400 (18.2) [16.6-19.9] | 27 523 (30.6) [30.3-30.9] |
| Large fringe metropolitan | 640 (29.2) [27.3-31.1] | 24 519 (27.2) [27.0-27.5] |
| Medium metropolitan | 459 (20.9) [19.2-22.7] | 20 672 (23.0) [22.7-23.2] |
| Small metropolitan | 238 (10.9) [9.6-12.2] | 6990 (7.8) [7.6-7.9] |
| Micropolitan | 267 (12.2) [10.8-13.6] | 6704 (7.4) [7.3-7.6] |
| Noncore | 189 (8.6) [7.5-9.9] | 3593 (4.0) [3.9-4.1] |
| Missing or unknownc | 45 | 3127 |
Abbreviation: NA, not applicable.
a
A list of jurisdictions is presented in eTable 1 in Supplement 1.
b
Includes opioid-involved overdose deaths that did not involve buprenorphine. Thus, the buprenorphine-involved and other opioid–involved categories are mutually exclusive.
c
Missing values were excluded from calculations of percentages. Percentages might not sum to 100% because of rounding.
d
Based on the 2013 NCHS Urban-Rural Classification Scheme for Counties.