America in crisis: 1 in 5 young adult deaths linked to opioids

The opioid epidemic in the United States has reached astounding levels over the past 15 years, and millennials are at the greatest risk. A new study finds that one in every five deaths of young adults in America is linked to opioids.

The grim report out of St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto found that the percentage of deaths related to opioids in the U.S. spiked by 292% between 2001 and 2016. In 2001, 0.4% of deaths (1 in 255) were opioid related, compared to 1.5% of deaths (1 in 65) by 2016…

In 2016, opioids contributed to one in every 65 deaths in the U.S. overall, the study found, with men accounting for 70% of the statistics. But the demographic hit the hardest by the opioid crisis is young people. American adults aged 24 to 36 accounted for 20% of all opioid-related deaths in the U.S. in 2016, up from just four percent in 2001. Even younger Americans — those aged 15 to 24 — accounted for 12.4% of deaths that were attributable to opioids in 2016.