With 1,878 deaths, 2020 had the highest number of fatal drug overdoses to date in the state of Missouri – a 19% increase from 2019. 1,375 of these deaths involved opioids. Today, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) launched a new, interactive dashboard showing data regarding both fatal and nonfatal overdoses, where they occurred in the state and the demographic makeup of those who overdosed.

Following national trends, drug overdoses have become an epidemic in Missouri over the past decade. Missouri ranked 32nd in the nation for drug overdose death rates in 2020.

Among adults aged 18-44 in Missouri, drug overdose is the leading cause of death, and more than 70% of all drug overdose deaths in the state involve opioids. The opioid class of drugs includes heroin, fentanyl, methadone, morphine, oxycodone and many other prescription and non-prescription pain relievers.

“The opioid crisis is an issue only made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Paula Nickelson, DHSS Acting Director. “This is a health crisis that knows no bounds–it affects all genders, races and ages in both rural and urban communities. Our efforts at the state level to combat opioid misuse and overdose include monitoring and prevention strategies designed to improve data quality, inform decision making and implement targeted interventions.”

The new dashboard shows a sharp increase in recent years of deaths, from those involving heroin (with no synthetic opioids present) to deaths involving synthetic opioids. Synthetic opioids, including fentanyl and its analogs, were involved in 1,204 drug overdose deaths in 2020 in Missouri. The 2020 figure is nearly seven times higher than the 2015 count of 179 synthetic opioid-involved deaths.

In an effort to alter this trajectory, DHSS has several strategies and activities currently underway or in development. These efforts are supported through the Overdose Data to Action (OD2A) cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) which began in 2019.

Click HERE to view the opioid dashboard.

KPGZ News - Brian Watts contributed to this story