Recent research published in JAMA Psychiatry has revealed a dramatic shift in the demographics of “deaths of despair” in the United States. The study shows that middle-aged Black and Native Americans now have higher death rates from alcoholic liver disease, drug overdoses, and suicide compared to white Americans. This finding challenges the longstanding narrative that these deaths primarily affected white Americans.
The original analysis of deaths of despair, conducted nearly a decade ago, focused on rising death rates among middle-aged white people between 1999 and 2013. However, this new study highlights that the phenomenon has evolved significantly since then. By 2022, the mortality rate for these causes among Black Americans had nearly tripled to 104 per 100,000 people, surpassing the rate for white Americans at 103 per 100,000. Even more alarmingly, the rate among American Indian or Alaska Natives reached 242 per 100,000 people.
Joseph Friedman, a UCLA researcher and one of the study’s authors, emphasized the inaccuracy of attributing deaths of despair primarily to white individuals. The study points to several factors contributing to these disparities, including unequal access to healthcare, the increasing toxicity of the illicit drug supply, and worsening economic conditions.
The changing nature of the opioid epidemic, with fentanyl replacing prescription opioids as the primary driver, has played a significant role in shifting the demographics of those most at risk. The research underscores the urgent need for targeted interventions and improved access to mental health and substance use treatment for Black and Indigenous communities to address this growing health crisis.
See “Deaths of despair now highest among Black and Indigenous Americans” (April 11, 2024)
