Nearly three-quarters of the country reported declines in fatal opioid overdoses in the second half of last year, but in Rhode Island they increased 7%, according to a new report by the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF).
The reason: More people 65 and older in Rhode Island died of opioid overdoses.
Rhode Island is among 12 states — and the only one in New England — where fatal opioid overdoses rose year-over-year during the second half of 2023, according to the report. In Massachusetts, opioid overdoses during the same period declined 16%.
The analysis is based on data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Overall, fatal drug overdoses of all types in Rhode Island declined in 2023 for the first time in five years, with similar dips in other New England states. About 85% of the fatal overdoses in Rhode Island last year involved opioids.
It is not yet clear why Rhode Island had a higher share of older people dying of opioid overdoses, said Heather Saunders, the KFF report’s lead author. Even after analyzing the full-year CDC data from 2022 to 2023, she said, the vast majority of Rhode Island’s increase in fatal opioid overdoses — 12 of the 14 people that made up the increase, or 86% — were aged 65 and older. Nationwide, seniors made up 16% of opioid overdoses during the same period.
This story was reported by The Public’s Radio. You can read the entire story here.
