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Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Opioid-Related Mortality in the USA, 1999–2019: the Extreme Case of Washington DC

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A Correction to this article was published on 19 November 2021

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Abstract

In 2019, there were nearly 50,000 opioid-related deaths in the US, with substantial variation across sociodemographic groups and geography. To systematically investigate patterns of racial/ethnic inequities in opioid-related mortality, we used joinpoint regression models to estimate the trajectory of the opioid epidemic among non-Hispanic Black versus non-Hispanic white residents in Washington DC, 45 states, and 81 sub-state areas. We highlight the unique inequities observed in Washington DC. In 2019, the observed opioid-related mortality rate among Black DC residents was 11.3 times higher than white DC residents, resulting in 56.0 more deaths per 100,000 (61.5 vs. 5.5 per 100,000). This inequity was substantially higher than any other jurisdiction on both the relative and absolute scales. Most opioid-related deaths in DC involved synthetic opioids, which was present in 92% (N=198) of deaths among Black DC residents and 69% (N=11) of deaths among white DC residents. Localized, equitable, culturally-appropriate, targeted interventions are necessary to reduce the uniquely disproportionate burden of opioid-related mortality among Black DC residents.

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Acknowledgements

MVK receives support from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (K99DA051534). ACT receives support from the Sullivan Family Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA

    Mathew V. Kiang & David H. Rehkopf

  2. Harvard FXB Center for Health and Human Rights, Boston, MA, USA

    Mathew V. Kiang

  3. Center for Population Health Sciences, Stanford University, 1701 Page Mill Road, CA, 94304, Palo Alto, USA

    Mathew V. Kiang

  4. Center for Global Health and Mongan Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    Alexander C. Tsai

  5. Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Alexander C. Tsai

  6. Department of Statistical Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Monica J. Alexander

  7. Department of Sociology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Monica J. Alexander

  8. Division of Primary Care and Population Health, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA

    David H. Rehkopf

  9. Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation, University of Toronto, ON, Toronto, Canada

    Sanjay Basu

  10. School of Public Health, Imperial College, London, UK

    Sanjay Basu

  11. Center for Primary Care, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Sanjay Basu

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  1. Mathew V. Kiang
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  5. Sanjay Basu
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Correspondence to Mathew V. Kiang.

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The original version of this article was revised: Due to an error during the production process, the abstract and key words were missing from this article as originally published.

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Kiang, M.V., Tsai, A.C., Alexander, M.J. et al. Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Opioid-Related Mortality in the USA, 1999–2019: the Extreme Case of Washington DC. J Urban Health 98, 589–595 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-021-00573-8

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