Fentanyl, Heroin, and Cocaine Overdose Fatalities are Shifting to the Black Community: An Analysis of the State of Connecticut.

Background: Historically, Blacks and Hispanics have had lower opioid-involved overdose death rates in Connecticut (CT). We examined if a shift has taken place where rates of Black fatal overdoses have now surpassed Whites in the state.

Methods: Drug overdose fatality rates were calculated by number of deaths per year per 100,000 population from 2012 to 2019 in Connecticut. Measures were by race (White, Hispanic, Black, and Asian or Pacific Islander), age groups, and types of drugs, including fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, and other opioids. Poisson regression was used to test the interactions (race × age); joinpoint regression analysis was used to evaluate trend lines of fatality rate by racial/ethnic group within each age group with a significance level of p < 0.05.

Results: Drug overdose fatality rates in CT from 2012 to 2019 showed a significant increase for all races combined, estimated 3.6 deaths per 100,000 population per year. For Whites, overdose deaths were 4.6 per year from 2012 to 2017 with no change from 2017 to 2019. The overdose fatality rate for Hispanics was 3.0 and for Asian or Pacific Islanders 0.6 per year from 2012 to 2019. For Blacks, the death rates were statistically flat between 2012 and 2014; however, from 2015 to 2019, this group saw the largest average increase of 6.0 overdose deaths per 100,000 population each year. By 2019, the overdose fatality rate was higher in Blacks than in Whites, (39 vs. 38 per 100,000, respectively). Further, Blacks ages 50 years and over reported the highest overdose fatality rates among all race/age groups, an increase of 8.5 deaths per 100,000 population since 2014.

Conclusions And Relevance: Connecticut is a microcosm of the opioid overdose trend in the New England region of our country. The majority of overdose deaths in CT involved illicit drugs, fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine, rather than prescription drugs. Blacks 50-years-old and over showed the fastest growing overdose death rates. Opioid deaths are now shifting to the Black community, creating an urgent public health crisis.