Ohio Opioid Summary

Opioid-Related Overdose Deaths

Ohio is among the top five states with the highest rates of opioid-related overdose deaths. In 2016, there were 3,613 opioid-related overdose deaths­­­ in Ohio—a rate of 32.9 deaths per 100,000 persons and more than double the national rate of 13.3 deaths per 100,000. Since 2010, the rate has tripled from 10 deaths per 100,000. In the same period, the number of heroin-related deaths increased from 355 to 1,478 deaths, and deaths related to synthetic opioids rose from 175 to 2,296 deaths.

Opioid Pain Reliever Prescriptions

In 2015, Ohio providers wrote 85.8 opioid prescriptions per 100 persons (9.96 million prescriptions). In the same year, the average U.S. rate was 70 opioid prescriptions per 100 persons (IMS Health, 2016).  

Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS)

The incidence of NAS increased from 20 cases per 10,000 live births in 2006 to 155 cases per 10,000 live births in 2015—an almost eightfold increase (Ohio DOH). The national average across 28 states included in a separate 2013 analysis was 6.0 cases per 1,000 births (CDC, MMWR, 2014).

HIV Prevalence and HIV Diagnoses Attributed to Injection Drug Use (IDU)

• U.S. Incidence: In 2015, 9.1 percent (3,594¹) of the 39,513 new diagnoses of HIV in the United States were attributed to IDU. Among new cases, 8.2 percent (2,614¹) of cases among men and 13.2 percent (980) of cases among women were transmitted via IDU (CDC).
• U.S. Prevalence: In 2014, 955,081 Americans were living with a diagnosed HIV infection—a rate of 299.5 per 100,000 persons. Of these, 18.1 percent (131,056¹) of males and 22.6 percent (52,013) of females were living with HIV attributed to IDU (CDC).
• State Incidence: Of the new HIV cases in 2015, 927 occurred in Ohio, with 5.9 percent¹ of new cases in males and 14.8 percent of new cases in females attributed to IDU (AIDSVu).
• State Prevalence: In 2014, an estimated 19,911 persons were living with a diagnosed HIV infection in Ohio—a rate of 205 infections per 100,000 persons. Of these, 11.4 percent¹ of males and 16.7 percent of females were living with HIV attributed to IDU (AIDSVu).

Hepatitis C (HCV) Prevalence and HCV Diagnoses Attributed to Injection Drug Use

• U.S. Incidence: In 2015, there were 181,871 reported cases of chronic HCV and 33,900 estimated cases of acute HCV² (CDC). Where data were available, 64.2 percent of acute cases reported IDU (CDC).
• U.S. Prevalence: An estimated 3.5 million Americans are living with HCV, including approximately 2.7 million living with chronic infections (CDC).
• State Incidence: In 2015, there were 122 acute HCV cases and 19,165 chronic HCV cases (with rates of 1.1 cases per 100,000 persons and 165.1 cases per 100,000 persons, respectively) (CDC).
• State Prevalence: As of 2010, an estimated 119,000 persons were living with HCV in Ohio (HepVu).

National Institutes of Health-Funded Research

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), in partnership with the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) are supporting services planning research grants to address a dramatic increase in adverse outcomes associated with increased opioid injection drug use in Appalachia. The grants will help develop an epidemiologic understanding of opioid injection drug use, HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection risk, and other adverse health consequences of drug use in any of the 420 Appalachian counties (http://www.arc.gov/counties).

Additional Resources

• Ohio Department of Health, Drug Overdose in Ohio
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Opioid Overdose
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Annual Surveillance Report of Drug-Related Risks and Outcomes (2017)
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Behavioral Health Barometer Ohio, Volume 4 (2017)

Notes

1. Includes transmission to individuals with injection drug use as a risk factor.
2. 2015 estimate after adjusting for under-ascertainment and under-reporting. Data for 2015 were unavailable for Alaska, Arizona, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Iowa, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Wyoming.