Prescription Drug Deaths Continue to Rise

iStock/Thinkstock(ATLANTA) — The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says deaths from opioid prescription painkillers like Vicodin and OxyContin nearly quadrupled between 1999 and 2011.

According to CDC data, there were 4,263 deaths linked to opioid drugs in 1999.  In 2011, the number of deaths climbed to nearly 17,000.

“The numbers we’re seeing are definite underestimates,” said Dr. Holly Hedegaard, injury epidemiologist at the National Center for Health Statistics and one of the lead authors of the CDC report.

According to the report, the number of deaths linked to a combination of opioids with benzodiazepine drugs, like Xanax or Klonopin, was also on the rise.

In 2011, nearly a third of opioid-related deaths occurred in combination with benzodiazepines — a considerable jump from only about 13 percent in 1999.

The report also concluded that the group with the greatest increase in death rates was Americans between 55 and 65 years old.  Dr. Robert Waldman, an addiction medicine consultant not involved with the research, says one explanation may be the medical community placing more emphasis on treating pain symptoms.

Dr. Waldman says while this has led to relief for patients, it may have also led to more aggressive treatment of pain — and with it, more use of prescription painkillers.

The rise in deaths from opioid prescription painkillers appears to be slowing down in younger age groups. Health experts say that is likely due to a combination of increasing drug awareness, law enforcement activities and drug treatment programs.

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