Opioid Use Disorder Cases on the Rise by 2021

Opioid use disorder cases could total 1.9 million in the US in 2021 following 13% substance use increase in 2020.

Opioid use disorder (OUD) cases are estimated to reach a total of 1.9 million in the US in 2021 following a 13% substance use (252,000 cases) increase in 2020. This increase might cost the US billions to treat alcohol addiction and OUD and may also reduce the US life expectancy, as per GlobalData, a leading data, and analytics company.

It is estimated that over 21.2 million Americans are expected to suffer from alcohol addiction in 2021. One can expect the markets related to alcohol addiction to increase due to various associations with fatal liver diseases, heart problems, and other complications.

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‘Opioid use disorder cases are estimated to reach a total of 1.9 million in the US in 2021 following a 13% substance use increase in 2020. This increase might cost the US billions to treat alcohol addiction and OUD and may also reduce the US life expectancy.’

The US market for opioid addiction alone is already expected to nearly double from $1.5bn to $2.9bn between 2021 and 2028, as per GlobalData’s report, ‘Opioid Use Disorder: Opportunity Analysis and Forecasts to 2028’. Therefore, a 13% increase would result in an additional 2.8 million cases of alcohol addiction this year.

Opioid & Substance Use Disorder

“Such a significant increase in the prevalence of substance use will increase the overall cost of treating alcohol addiction and OUD downstream as substance abuse needs to be managed over a long period of time,” as per Walter Gabriel, MPH, Epidemiologist at GlobalData.

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Drug detoxification (or drug detox) is a process that helps drug addicts to give up drugs with less or no withdrawal symptoms.

An increase in the prevalence of substance abuse would also result in a significant loss of life. The impacts of substance abuse go beyond the economic cost as the demographic profile of the US could also see a shift in life expectancy.

More attention needs to be paid towards primary and secondary interventions to reduce the economic and human toll from substance abuse in the US.

Prescription Drug Abuse
Prescription drug abuse is consuming prescription medications in a way different from that as prescribed by the doctor. It is becoming a colossal health problem which can lead to addiction and even death.

“Since the brunt of this loss will mainly impact younger populations as substance abuse tends to affect young and middle-aged adults disproportionately, this trend could lead to stagnation or even a decrease in the US life expectancy as more younger adults die prematurely. More awareness of substance use should be put forward. In addition, a preventative approach should be taken to reduce the proportion of Americans transitioning from substance use to substance misuse,” says Gabriel.

Source-Medindia