8 Facts About Opioid Abuse Epidemic You Didn’t Know

It's difficult to avoid hearing about the opioid epidemic in the news. Since 2001, the crisis has claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans and cost the United States more than $1 trillion. Every day, more than 115 people die from opioid overdoses, which include prescription painkillers (such as OxyContin or Percocet) and illicit drugs such as heroin and fentanyl.

According to a recent government survey, one out of every five Americans knows someone who is addicted to opioids or prescription painkillers. But even if you're not among the 20%, the true toll of the opioid epidemic and what it's like to live through it may come as a surprise. Here are some of the most fascinating facts and statistics.

1. More Than One-third of American Adults Have Used Opioids

In fact, nearly one-third of all American adults (38%) used at least one prescription opioid in 2015. That was the finding of a 2017 survey published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, which also discovered that approximately 13% of those who used opioids did so improperly—either without a prescription or not as directed. Nonetheless, despite their widespread use, the drugs are still stigmatized.

2. Opioid-related Deaths Have Nearly Doubled in the Last Decade

Between 2009 and 2015, the number of opioid-related hospital deaths nearly doubled. During the same period, overdose-related hospital intensive care unit admissions increased by 34%.

The death rate from opioid overdoses increased the most around 2012. This increase could be attributed to doctors writing more opioid prescriptions in previous years, which may have resulted in more addiction.

3. Opioid Overdoses Among Children Have Doubled, Too

Children's hospitalizations for opioid overdoses have nearly doubled, from 797 between 2004 and 2006 to 1,504 between 2013 and 2015. Those figures do not only reflect older children who use drugs on purpose: One-third of the hospitalizations reported in the study involved children under the age of six.

Around 20% of the children under the age of six had overdosed on methadone, an opioid prescribed to help people recover from heroin or other narcotic addictions.

4. We Don't Really Know How Many People Have Died—but It's Probably More Than We Realize

According to recent estimates, over 42,000 people died from an opioid overdose in 2016, accounting for roughly 20% of all deaths among young adults that year. But, as if that weren't enough, those figures only represent a portion of the total death toll.

Between 1999 and 2015, up to 70,000 opioid overdose deaths went unreported or were misclassified due to the way they were coded on death certificates. During that time, more than 97,000 unintentional overdose deaths were coded as "unspecified" rather than opioid-related, and researchers believe that many of them should have been classified as opioid-related.

5. All Age Groups and Regions Have Been Affected

Addiction is a disease that does not discriminate. It doesn't matter if you're a CEO at the top of your company or an eighth-grader in school; the brain can still be hijacked.

A wide range of age groups was also observed in claims from the country's rural and urban areas. So it's not just an inner-city crisis or a Middle-America crisis. It's happening everywhere, and no one is immune because they're rich or poor, white or black.

6. At First, Addiction Is Hard To Recognize

Because opioids are frequently prescribed for legitimate medical reasons, addiction can develop gradually and covertly.

However, there are steps people can take to reduce their chances of becoming addicted to prescription painkillers. If you're worried about taking an opioid for pain, talk to your physician or pain specialist about alternatives.

7. Recovery Is Harder Than You Think

Because opioids are frequently prescribed for legitimate medical reasons, addiction can develop gradually and covertly.

However, there are steps people can take to reduce their chances of becoming addicted to prescription painkillers. If you're worried about taking an opioid for pain, talk to your doctor or pain specialist about alternatives.

8. Health Care Professionals Face Barriers to Treatment

One issue is that doctors find it much easier to prescribe opioids than it does to prescribe drugs to treat opioid withdrawal. For example, to prescribe one of those drugs, buprenorphine, physicians must obtain a special license, whereas methadone can only be administered in highly structured clinics.

Many hospitals are also only now learning how to counsel patients about opioid and addiction issues.