CDC: 2018 to 2021 Saw Increase in Drug Overdose Deaths Involving Xylazine

Increase seen in age-adjusted rate of drug overdose deaths involving xylazine from 0.03 to 1.06 per 100,000 standard population

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, June 30, 2023 (HealthDay News) — From 2018 to 2021, there was an increase in the age-adjusted rate of drug overdose deaths involving xylazine, from 0.03 to 1.06 per 100,000 standard population, according to a June Vital Statistics Rapid Release report, a publication from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Merianne Rose Spencer, M.P.H., from the National Centers for Health Statistics in Hyattsville, Maryland, and colleagues identified drug overdose deaths involving xylazine for U.S. residents from 2018 through 2021 overall and by sex.

The researchers found that from 2018 to 2021, the age-adjusted rate of drug overdose deaths involving xylazine increased from 0.03 to 1.06 per 100,000 standard population. For each year between 2018 and 2021, the rates for males were at least twice that of females. The rates increased across all age group and reportable race and Hispanic origin categories between 2020 and 2021. Rates were highest among those aged 25 to 34 and 35 to 44 in 2020, while in 2021, the highest rates were seen for those aged 35 to 44. The highest rates were seen among non-Hispanic Black or African American people in 2020 and 2021 (0.68 and 1.82, respectively). However, compared with other groups, the largest increases in rates occurred among Hispanic or Latino people (0.21 and 0.64 in 2020 and 2021, respectively). The most frequently co-occurring drug mentioned on xylazine death records between 2018 and 2021 was fentanyl.

“This study highlights the increase in drug overdose deaths involving xylazine since 2018,” the authors write. “Overall, the age-adjusted rate of drug overdose deaths involving xylazine increased 35 times.”