PA Now Has One Of Worst Overdose Death Rates In America, CDC Says

Some depressing news in the ongoing battle against addiction in Pennsylvania: the state's drug overdose death rate in 2016 was among the very worst in the country, according to new data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And provisional data for drug overdose deaths in 2017 only shows the numbers spiking.

The 2016 figures, released Thursday, show more than 63,600 Americans died of drug overdoses in 2016. Of them, 4,627 were from Pennsylvania. That's up from 3,264 fatal overdoses in Pennsylvania in 2015.

In 2016, Pennsylvania's drug overdose death rate was 37.9 per 100,000 people. Only West Virginia, Ohio and New Hampshire had a higher overdose death rate than the Keystone State.

We shouldn't expect the news to get any better next year.

The CDC estimates, in a provisional count shared on its website, that there were 5,260 drug overdose deaths in Pennsylvania for the 12-month period leading up to May 2017. That's a 55 percent increase from the prior year's provisional data. Some of the deaths — 0.4 percent — represented in the provisional data are still being investigated, the CDC says.

Overall, 2016 was the deadliest year on record for overdose deaths in the United States.

The CDC data also found that drug overdose death rates were significantly higher for men than women, though both groups have been affected by the increase. For men, the rate increased from 8.2 in 1999 to 26.2 in 2016 and for women the rate increased from 3.9 in 1999 to 13.4 in 2016. Rates of drug overdose deaths increased for all age groups the CDC studied and was highest among those aged 25-54.

The overdose death rate released by the CDC exceeds the peak number of deaths during the AIDS crisis in 1995, the peak number of gun-related deaths in 1993, the peak number of car crash deaths in 1972. The figure is also greater than the number of American soldiers who died during the Vietnam War.

Of the 42,249 opioid overdose deaths reported in 2016, the majority were due to synthetic opioids such as fentanyl (not including methadone). The CDC notes the rate of overdose deaths involving such substances nearly doubled in a single year (3.1 per 100,000 in 2015 to 6.2 in 2016). Over 14,000 overdose deaths attributed to drugs like hydrocodone and oxycodone while over 15,000 overdose deaths were due to heroin use.

In October, President Trump declared the opioid crisis a public health emergency in the United States, but the declaration didn't bring any new money to fight the scourge. In late November, Trump appointed Kellyanne Conway to lead the administration's efforts to address the nation's opioid epidemic.

Another report released by the CDC on Thursday shows a decline in the life expectancy in 2016 for the second consecutive year, fueled by a rise in drug overdose deaths.

The Associated Press and Patch National Staff Feroze Dhanoa contributed to this report.

Photo: In this June 6, 2017, file photo, a reporter holds up 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 chief justice of the Massachusetts Trial Court told prosecutors she fears that allowing fentanyl and carfentanil into courtrooms as evidence puts people at risk even when the drugs are properly packaged. Some medical experts said a proposal to ban them from courtrooms appears to be driven by a misguided understanding of the real dangers of the substances. Photo by Jacquelyn Martin, File/Associated Press