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TFAH • WBT • PaininTheNation.org
The Rising Problem of Deaths of Despair
In 2016, 142,000 Americans died
from alcohol-induced fatalities, drug
overdoses and suicide—one every four
minutes.
1
These "diseases of despair"
have become a full-blown public
health crisis and contributed to the
unprecedented fall in life expectancy in
the United States in 2015 and 2016.
2,3
Unfortunately, the problem is not
getting better. Alcohol, drug and
suicide deaths increased 11 percent
between 2015 and 2016, and the
nation is now on a trajector y to lose
more than two million people to these
causes by 2025.
4
And the data indicates alarming
trends: while drug overdoses were still
highest among Whites in 2016, there
were disproportionately large increases
in drug deaths among racial/ethnic
minority groups, particularly among
Black Americans. In the previous
decade, Blacks had relatively low drug
overdose rates — averaging 35 percent
lower than Whites between 2006 and
2015. However, between 2015 and
2016, Blacks experienced an alarming
increase — of 39 percent — in drug-
related deaths.
5
The United States has also seen a
steady rise in alcohol-related and
suicide deaths over the past few
decades — with increases in death
rates of 55 and 54 percent between
1999 and 2016, respectively.
6,7
0
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
70,000
80,000
90,000
100,000
110,000
120,000
130,000
140,000
150,000
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003 2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
Total Deaths Alcohol Deaths Suicide Deaths Drug Deaths
64,591
91,349
141,963
127,524
Annual Deaths from Alcohol, Drugs and Suicide, 1999-2016
Source: CDC WONDER
