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Rural Overdose Rate Increase Fueled by Meth Use
About 4 in 5 people who use drugs in rural areas across 10 states said they have used methamphetamines within the past 30 days, a frequently overlooked trend that is driving up overdoses in such communities, according to new research from Oregon Health & Science University.
Findings were published this month in JAMA Network Open.
“Among people who use drugs in rural communities, methamphetamine use is pervasive,” Todd Korthuis, MD, MPH professor of medicine (general internal medicine and geriatrics) in the OHSU School of Medicine and head of addiction medicine, said in a news release. “This has been a West Coast problem for a long time, but now we see methamphetamine use in rural communities across the United States.”
The study was based on a survey of 3048 individuals who participated in the Rural Opioid Initiative study from January 2018 to March 2020. Survey participants were located in rural areas with high overdose rates across 10 states.
Survey results revealed that the risk of nonfatal overdose was greatest among those using both methamphetamine and opioids. Of those who reported an overdose within the prior 6 months, 22% said they had used both drugs. In comparison, 14% of those using only opioids and 6% of those using only methamphetamine reported an overdose.
Economic distress was a consistent challenge present with survey participants, with 53% report being homeless within the previous 6 months.
“There are deaths of despair everywhere, but our rural communities have been hard hit,” Korthuis said.
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