A new KFF analysis examines the recent decline in opioid overdose deaths, with a focus on how trends vary by age, race, gender and state.
Provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show a 20% decline in deaths during the latter half of 2023 compared to the same period from the previous year.
In the second half of 2023, White people saw the largest decline (-14%) in opioid overdose deaths while declines among Black people were about half that (-6%), compared to the same period the year before.
All age groups experienced declines in opioid overdose deaths except one. Among people 65 and older, opioid deaths rose by 9% percent in late 2023, with factors such as low detection of substance use concerns potentially playing a role.
In three-quarters of states, opioid deaths declined in the last six months of 2023 compared to the same period in 2022. In 2023, opioid death rates were the highest in West Virginia, Washington D.C. and Delaware, while states with the lowest opioid death rates included Nebraska, South Dakota and Iowa.
Newer provisional and partial data for the first quarter of 2024, which is not included in this analysis, point to a continuation of the overall downward trend in opioid overdose deaths through early 2024.
