We are living in an interesting age as we live through the years of a modern drug epidemic. Hundreds of thousands of lives have been claimed by opioid addiction since 1999 when prescription painkillers like Oxycontin were introduced to the market. Every month, it is estimated that the same amount of people who died in the entirety of the tragic 9/11 attacks die of an opioid overdose- not from a single event, but a monthly death toll. New research suggest that young people are common victims.
Researchers from St. Michaels Hospital in Toronto, Canada found that the opioid epidemic has significantly worsened in the last three years. Published in JAMA Network Open, the study found that all deaths from all varieties of opiates, has increased 292%, Big Think reports.
In 2016, 1.68 million people in America lost their lives, researchers found, with a concentration of lives lost occurring in the 24-35 year old bracket. Within that age bracket, 20% of deaths were the result of opioid use. The same age bracket saw only 4% of deaths due to opioid use in 2001. Young, emerging adults and contributing citizens of the world are losing their lives at an alarmingly increasing rate.
The 24-35 year old bracket was not the only area of concern discovered by the researchers, unfortunately. For the 15-24 year old age bracket, opioid use led to 12.5% of deaths. Teenagers who are finding themselves addicted to opiate drugs are finding themselves in a highly dangerous and potentially fatal situation.
These statistics are not gender focused, however, the researchers did find a distinct detail in the gender patterns of opioid related death. Men took the majority of opioid related deaths in the study, coming in at 67.5% of all opioid related deaths for 2016. Ages ranged and provided researchers with a median age of just 40 years old. A 40 year old man has a lot of life left to live.
Opioid addiction can be changed. Treatment and recovery offer men a new way to live their lives by healing the past, being present, and working toward a fulfilling, sustainable future.
Everyday at Tree House Recovery, men are finding freedom from addiction. Our men’s treatment programs are designed to completely transform men’s lives, inside and out. Men create a lifestyle of sustainable recovery by creating a lifestyle of sustainable change and live limitless lives as a result. For more information, call: (503) 850-2474
