1999 to 2021 Saw Rise in Methamphetamine-Related Mortality

This trend may be driven by increases in heroin and synthetic opioids coinvolvement

By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, Jan. 21, 2025 (HealthDay News) — From 1999 to 2021, methamphetamine-related mortality surged dramatically, with a significant rise in heroin and synthetic opioid coinvolvement, according to a study published in the February issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Tonazzina H. Sauda, M.B.B.S., from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and colleagues examined sex-specific trends in methamphetamine-related mortality and the extent to which these deaths may be driven by heroin and fentanyl coinvolvement. The analysis included data from the CDC WONDER Multiple Causes of Death database (1999 to 2021).

The researchers found that over time, the methamphetamine-related mortality rate increased 58.8-fold among males (0.33 per 100,000 to 19.74 per 100,000) and 65.3-fold among females (0.12 per 100,000 to 7.96 per 100,000). The greatest increases occurred between 2019 and 2021. The proportion of deaths that coinvolved heroin and/or synthetic opioids increased from 1999 to 2021 among both sexes (males: 13.1 to 61.5 percent; females: 7.7 to 63.1 percent).

“Increasing methamphetamine-related mortality among males and females has been accompanied by a dramatic increase in the proportion of heroin and/or synthetic opioid coinvolvement among both sexes,” the authors write. “Robust harm reduction efforts are needed to mitigate these increases, particularly for people who co-use stimulants and opioids.”