Valdez Avelardo, Cepeda Alice, Frankeberger Jessica, Nowotny Kathryn M
Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, University of Southern California, Montgomery Ross Fisher Building, 669 W. 34th St., Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA.
Department of Behavioral and Community Health Sciences, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, 130 De Soto Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA.
Drug Alcohol Depend Rep. 2022 Feb 2;2:100029. doi: 10.1016/j.dadr.2022.100029. eCollection 2022 Mar.
The opioid epidemic in the United States has manifested differently across geographic regions and populations, with recent increases among racial/ethnic minorities and in the Western region of the U.S. This study provides an overview of the opioid overdose epidemic among Latinos in California and highlights high-risk areas in the state.
Using publicly available data from California, we examined trends in opioid-related deaths (e.g., overdose) and opioid-related emergency department (ED) visits among Latinos at the county-level, as well as changes in opioid outcomes overtime.
Opioid-related death rates among Latinos (mostly Mexican-origin) in California remained relatively stable from 2006-2016, but started to increase in 2017 peaking at an age-adjusted opioid mortality rate of 5.4 deaths per 100,000 Latino residents in 2019. Prescription opioid-related deaths, compared to heroin and fentanyl, have remained the highest over time. However, fentanyl-related deaths began to increase dramatically in 2015. Lassen, Lake, and San Francisco counties had the highest 2019 opioid-related death rates among Latinos. Opioid-related ED visits among Latinos have steadily increased since 2006 with a sharp increase in rates in 2019. San Francisco, Amador, and Imperial counties had the highest 2019 rates of ED visits.
Latinos are facing detrimental consequences associated with recent increasing trends in opioid overdoses. The identified high-risk counties may have vulnerable sub-populations of Latinos, such as those in northern rural regions, that have gone underrepresented in conventional surveillance health databases. Time sensitive policies and interventions are needed to curtail health consequences especially among "hidden" Latino populations.
美国的阿片类药物流行在不同地理区域和人群中表现各异，近期在少数族裔和美国西部地区呈上升趋势。本研究概述了加利福尼亚州拉丁裔中的阿片类药物过量流行情况，并突出了该州的高风险地区。
利用加利福尼亚州公开可得的数据，我们在县一级研究了拉丁裔中与阿片类药物相关的死亡（如过量）趋势以及与阿片类药物相关的急诊科就诊情况，以及阿片类药物结果随时间的变化。
2006年至2016年期间，加利福尼亚州拉丁裔（大多为墨西哥裔）中与阿片类药物相关的死亡率相对稳定，但在2017年开始上升，在2019年达到年龄调整后的阿片类药物死亡率峰值，即每10万名拉丁裔居民中有5.4人死亡。与海洛因和芬太尼相比，处方阿片类药物相关的死亡长期以来一直是最高的。然而，与芬太尼相关的死亡在2015年开始急剧增加。拉森县、莱克县和旧金山县在2019年拉丁裔中与阿片类药物相关的死亡率最高。自2006年以来，拉丁裔中与阿片类药物相关的急诊科就诊人数稳步增加，2019年增长率大幅上升。旧金山、阿马多尔和帝国县在2019年的急诊科就诊率最高。
拉丁裔正面临与近期阿片类药物过量增加趋势相关的有害后果。已确定的高风险县可能有拉丁裔的脆弱亚人群，如北部农村地区的人群，这些人群在传统监测健康数据库中的代表性不足。需要及时的政策和干预措施来减少健康后果，特别是在“隐藏”的拉丁裔人群中。
