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Nearly 107,000 US Drug Overdose Deaths in 2021, CDC's Final Tally Shows

The official number was 106,699 deaths in the U.S. due to drug overdose deaths, making it the fourth leading cause of death

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Nearly 107,000 Americans died of drug overdoses last year, according to final figures released Thursday.

The official number was 106,699, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. That's nearly 16% higher than the nearly 92,000 overdose deaths in 2020.

Earlier, provisional data suggested there were more than 107,000 overdose deaths last year. The numbers may have changed as some additional death records have come in, a CDC spokesman said. Also, provisional data includes all overdose deaths, while the final numbers are limited to U.S. residents, he noted.

The CDC on Thursday also released a final report for overall U.S. deaths in 2021. As previously reported, more than 3.4 million Americans died that year, or more than 80,000 more than the year before. Accidental injuries — which include drug overdoses — was the fourth leading cause of death, after heart disease, cancer and COVID-19. Life expectancy fell to about 76 years, 5 months.

Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, has become the leading cause of overdose deaths in America, along with other synthetic opioids. The CDC reports that over 150 people die every day from overdoses related to synthetic opioids. Nabarun Dasgupta, a senior scientist at the Gillings School of Global Public Health, joins LX to discuss the rise in fentanyl-related overdoses.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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