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Fentanyl, Heroin, and Cocaine Overdose Fatalities are Shifting to the Black Community: An Analysis of the State of Connecticut

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Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background

Historically, Blacks and Hispanics have had lower opioid-involved overdose death rates in Connecticut (CT). We examined if a shift has taken place where rates of Black fatal overdoses have now surpassed Whites in the state.

Methods

Drug overdose fatality rates were calculated by number of deaths per year per 100,000 population from 2012 to 2019 in Connecticut. Measures were by race (White, Hispanic, Black, and Asian or Pacific Islander), age groups, and types of drugs, including fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, and other opioids. Poisson regression was used to test the interactions (race × age); joinpoint regression analysis was used to evaluate trend lines of fatality rate by racial/ethnic group within each age group with a significance level of p < 0.05.

Results

Drug overdose fatality rates in CT from 2012 to 2019 showed a significant increase for all races combined, estimated 3.6 deaths per 100,000 population per year. For Whites, overdose deaths were 4.6 per year from 2012 to 2017 with no change from 2017 to 2019. The overdose fatality rate for Hispanics was 3.0 and for Asian or Pacific Islanders 0.6 per year from 2012 to 2019. For Blacks, the death rates were statistically flat between 2012 and 2014; however, from 2015 to 2019, this group saw the largest average increase of 6.0 overdose deaths per 100,000 population each year. By 2019, the overdose fatality rate was higher in Blacks than in Whites, (39 vs. 38 per 100,000, respectively). Further, Blacks ages 50 years and over reported the highest overdose fatality rates among all race/age groups, an increase of 8.5 deaths per 100,000 population since 2014.

Conclusions and Relevance

Connecticut is a microcosm of the opioid overdose trend in the New England region of our country. The majority of overdose deaths in CT involved illicit drugs, fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine, rather than prescription drugs. Blacks 50-years-old and over showed the fastest growing overdose death rates. Opioid deaths are now shifting to the Black community, creating an urgent public health crisis.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge support from the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH BUILD (TL4GM118971) for funding his work (C.T.L.).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Connecticut Convergence Institute for Translation in Regenerative Engineering, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT, 06030, USA

    Z. Helen Wu, Qiao Yong, Joanne M. Walker, James J. Grady & Cato T. Laurencin

  2. Department of Psychiatry, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT, 06030, USA

    Z. Helen Wu

  3. Department of Statistics, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, 06269, USA

    Qiao Yong

  4. Department of Population Health Science, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT, 06030, USA

    James J. Grady

  5. Raymond and Beverly Sackler Center for Biomedical, Biological, Physical and Engineering Sciences, Farmington, CT, USA

    Cato T. Laurencin

  6. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT, USA

    Cato T. Laurencin

  7. Department of Materials Science & Engineering, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA

    Cato T. Laurencin

  8. Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA

    Cato T. Laurencin

  9. Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA

    Cato T. Laurencin

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Correspondence to Cato T. Laurencin.

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Wu, Z.H., Yong, Q., Walker, J.M. et al. Fentanyl, Heroin, and Cocaine Overdose Fatalities are Shifting to the Black Community: An Analysis of the State of Connecticut. J. Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities 9, 722–730 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-021-01007-6

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