A brand new study from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has found that treating and screening for non-substance-related mental disorders can assist reduce the variety of overdoses.
The studyreleased Thursday found that of the 63,424 individuals who died of drug overdoses in 2022 in 43 states and Washington, DC, 22 percent had one other mental disorder. Analyzing data from the CDC's State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System, researchers found that probably the most common disorders were depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder.
The authors identified that the prevalence of mental disorders might be underestimated.
Amanda Dinwiddie, a health scientist within the CDC's Division of Overdose Prevention and lead writer of the study, said in an interview Thursday that she hopes public health professionals will use the knowledge gathered by the study to higher discover and treat mental health disorders.
“They can build on efforts to identify and treat patients with substance use disorders and other mental health disorders by integrating screening and treatment, for example by incorporating evidence-based mental health screenings into nonfatal overdose encounters, such as in emergency departments,” she said.
She said public health professionals could also increase harm reduction efforts, equivalent to distributing naloxone to reverse opioid overdoses. The FDA approved the primary over-the-counter naloxone products in 2023. They are actually available in all 50 states.
Dinwiddie said 1 / 4 of individuals with non-substance-related mental disorders who died had a minimum of one opportunity for intervention, equivalent to during existing treatment for his or her substance abuse or during an emergency room visit.
“We considered any emergency room or urgent care visits within a month of the death,” she said. “It might be overdose-related or unrelated, discharge from an institutional setting like a jail or prison, current treatment for a substance use disorder or a previous nonfatal overdose. Those are just touchpoints where intervention could have occurred.”
About 80 percent of overdose deaths were related to opioids, especially illegally produced fentanyl, the information showed.
The study was released as a part of Overdose Awareness Week, and Saturday is International Overdose Awareness Day. White House drug policy chief Rahul Gupta called on Congress this week to reauthorize the Office of National Drug Control Policy during an interview with CQ Roll Call.
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