By Sharin Hussain via SWNS
Four in 10 Americans know someone who has died of a drug overdose, according to a new study.
And one in three say their lives were disrupted by the death, according to the findings.
Research by the non-profit organization RAND found that 42.4 percent of participants reported personally knowing at least one person who died by overdose, suggesting that 125 million American adults have experienced such a loss.
Dr. Alison Athey, a behavioral scientist at RAND, said: “The experiences and needs of millions of survivors of an overdose loss largely have been overlooked in the clinical and public health response to the nation’s overdose crisis.
“Our findings emphasize the need for research into the prevalence and impact of overdose loss, particularly among groups and communities that experience disproportionate rates of loss.”
The study, published by the American Journal of Public Health, asked 2,072 American adults about whether they knew someone who had died of a drug overdose and to characterize how the death affected their life.
The research found that an overdose death has greater exposure on women, married participants, U.S.-born participants and those who live in urban settings than their counterparts.
The study found that 13 percent of those who responded had had their lives disrupted by an overdose loss.
More than one in 25 of those surveyed said that they still feel that loss or devastating effect today.
The rates of exposure were significantly higher in New England, like Massachusetts and New Hampshire and in the East South Central region of Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee than in other parts of the nation.
In 2022, more than 109,000 people died from a drug overdose, placing the national total since 2000 at more than 1.1 million overdose deaths.
There has been minimal research that explores the experiences of those left behind by fatal drug overdoses.
Researchers say that it is important to consider a parallel line of research that has focused on those left behind by suicide to understand the impact that an overdose loss may have on those who have experienced it.
A survivorship following suicide deaths leaves overlapping groups of those exposed, those who are psychologically distressed, and those who are significantly impacted by suicide.
Each suicide death is estimated to affect the lives of as many as 135 U.S. adults.
Dr. Athey added: “It is likely that a similar continuum of survivorship exists among overdose loss survivors.”
