2024-04-15 08:00:00
The number of premature deaths linked to opioids doubled between 2019 and 2021 in Canada and one in four deaths among adults aged 20 to 39 is attributable to opioids, according to a new study published today in the Journal of the Canadian Medical Association (New window).
In 2016, the number of accidental opioid overdose deaths was 2,470. In 2019, 3,447 Canadians died from opioid overdoses.
Then, in 2021, that number jumped to 6,222, according to researchers who analyzed Canadian data (excluding Nunavut, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador.)
Among adults aged 85 and younger, one in 31 deaths was linked to opioid overdose.
Among young people aged 20 to 39, it is one in four deaths. In Alberta, almost half of deaths among those aged 20 to 39 were caused by opioid overdose.
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The researchers also calculated the number of potential years of life lost, which measures premature mortality. This is an estimate of the number of additional years a person would have lived, had it not been for their premature death.
The number of years of life lost reached 256,336 in 2021, double that of 2019. The high number of young people dying from opioids is directly responsible for this meteoric increase.
In fact, nearly 34% of these lost years are among 30 to 39 year olds.
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years. They are dying because of a very dangerous illicit market. People who buy it on the illicit market don’t know what they are taking. Sometimes it’s five or ten times more powerful than their last dose”,”text”:”The tragedy of the opioid crisis is that the majority of deaths are young people in their 20s and 30s, while they are expected to live to at least 70 or 80 years old. They are dying because of a very dangerous illicit market. People who buy it on the illicit market don’t know what they are taking. Sometimes it’s five or ten times more powerful than their last dose.”}}”>The tragedy of the opioid crisis is that the majority of deaths are young people in their 20s and 30s, when they should live at least until 70 or 80 years old. They are dying because of a very dangerous illicit market. People who buy it on the illicit market don’t know what they are taking. Sometimes it’s five or 10 times more potent than their last dose, says David Juurlink, one of the study’s authors and head of the Division of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University of Toronto.
Furthermore, the majority of deaths occur among men.
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The number of opioid-related deaths has been increasing for several years, but the situation has worsened since the COVID-19 pandemic. The illicit opioid market is increasingly volatile and contributes to this serious trend, underline the authors of the study.
Although prescription opioids contribute to some deaths, as of 2020, fentanyl from the illicit market was involved in more than 80% of opioid-related deaths.
The crisis affects the entire country, but the increase in the number of deaths is particularly significant in certain provinces. Alberta and Saskatchewan have the highest rates of deaths per million population in the country (370.2 and 279 respectively).
The per capita death rate has tripled in Saskatchewan since 2019. In Manitoba, it has almost quintupled. The rate in British Columbia has increased slightly, but the authors point out that the data from that province are underestimated, since many deaths potentially linked to opioids are still the subject of a coroner’s investigation.
Quebec, the Northwest Territories and New Brunswick have the lowest death rates per capita in the country.
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During the pandemic, the loss of life has accelerated across the country, laments Dr. Tara Gomes, lead author of the study and scientist at Unity Health Toronto. Without adequate investments in treatment and harm reduction programs, as well as more social supports, such as for housing, these preventable deaths will continue to have devastating effects on communities across the country.
Measures that work are not yet fully deployed
This is why opioid addiction specialist Dr. Marie-Ève Goyer is not optimistic; she fears the situation will get worse.
What we see circulating there, on the illicit market, is unheard of for me, says this researcher at the University Institute on Addictions and associate clinical professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Medicine. emergency department of the University of Montreal.
She believes that not only must we better control the illicit market, but we must also address the root causes of this epidemic.
The opioid crisis is becoming intertwined with a crisis of precariousness. The issues of housing, education, poverty, social inequalities and trauma are not improving in Canada. The drug is an attempt to relieve physical pain, but also psychological pain.
She points out that there are already many ways to prevent opioid overdoses – such as access to addiction treatment, sterile consumption equipment, naloxone, supervised injection sites and substance analysis services.
But these measures are not adequately implemented, in particular because of the prejudice surrounding people who overdose on opioids, deplores this head of training on treatments for opioid use disorders at the National Institute. of public health in Quebec.
people per month in Quebec [de surdoses d’opioïdes],”,”text”:”This population is stigmatized. The battle is underway to vaccinate people for measles, but we are losing 50 people per month in Quebec [de surdoses d’opioïdes],”}}”>This population is stigmatized. There is a struggle to vaccinate people for measles, but we are losing 50 people per month in Quebec [de surdoses d’opioïdes]she emphasizes.
My patients have been dying for years and nothing has been done. We are letting a category of the population die. As long as we don’t talk regarding this, we won’t be able to deploy what works.
A quote from Dr. Marie-Ève Goyer, specialist in opioid addiction
According to Statistics Canada (New window), since 2016, there have been:
more than 40,000 opioid-related deaths; more than 39,000 opioid-related hospitalizations; more than 16,000 stimulant-related hospitalizations.
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