Overdoses linked with depression
The link between mental health disorders and substance abuse is well-documented. Nearly one in 12 adults in the U.S is depressed, and opioid-related deaths are skyrocketing. As these numbers continue to climb, some mental health professionals have started to wonder if there’s a link between the two.
According to a new study published in Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, the link is strong.
“For every additional 1 percent of the population that has a depression diagnosis, we see between a 25 and 35 percent increase in the number of opioid overdose deaths,” said Laura Schwab Reese, an assistant professor of health and kinesiology at Purdue University, who led the study. “We thought maybe suicide was driving this, but we sectioned out unintentional overdose and found that the relationship continued.”
More than 72,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in 2017, mostly from opioids. The Trump administration declared the crisis a public health emergency in October 2017, but the end is still out of sight. This, coupled with rising rates of depression and a lack of access to mental health care for many, is proving to be deadly.