CHICAGO, June 29 (Xinhua) -- Dozens of counties in the Midwest and South are at the highest risk for opioid deaths in the United States, according to a study of the University of Michigan (UM).
UM researchers looked at opioid overdose mortality rates in 3,142 U.S. counties between January 2015 and December 2017. They defined an opioid high-risk county as one with opioid overdose mortality above the national rate and with the availability of providers to deliver opioid use disorder medications below the national rate.
The study included data from all three opioid use disorder medications on the market, namely methadone, buprenorphine and naltrexone. The analysis included publicly listed providers of methadone, namely 1,517 opioid treatment programs; buprenorphine, namely 24,851 clinicians approved to prescribe the medication; and the extended-release naltrexone product Vivitrol, namely 5,222 health care providers, as compiled by the drug manufacturer.
In their cross-sectional study, the researchers also looked at demographics, workforce, access to health care insurance, road density, urbanicity and opioid prescriptions.
They found that 412 counties or 13 percent are classified as high-risk, having both high opioid overdose mortality and low treatment capacity; 751 counties or 24 percent had a high rate of opioid overdose mortality; 1,457 or 46 percent counties lacked a publicly available provider of opioid use disorder medication; and 946 out of 1,328 rural counties or 71 percent lacked a publicly available provider of opioid use disorder medication.
States with among the most high-risk counties include: North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, Kentucky, Michigan, Tennessee, Illinois, Indiana, Georgia, Oklahoma, West Virginia, South Carolina, Wisconsin and Florida.
The researchers also found that certain factors, such as a younger population, lower rates of unemployment and higher density of primary care physicians, are associated with a lower risk of opioid overdose death and lack of capacity to treat opioid use disorder.
"We hope policymakers can use this information to funnel additional money and resources to specific counties within their states," said lead author Rebecca Haffajee, assistant professor of health management and policy at the UM School of Public Health. "We need more strategies to augment and increase the primary care provider workforce in those high-risk counties, people who are willing and able to provide opioid use disorder treatments."
The study was published on Friday in JAMA Network Open.
