Abstract
BackgroundOpioid overdose-related deaths have increased dramatically in recent years. Combating the opioid epidemic requires better understanding of the epidemiology of opioid poisoning (OP) and opioid use disorder (OUD).ObjectiveWe aimed to discover geospatial patterns in nonmedical opioid use and its correlations with demographic features related to despair and economic hardship, most notably the US presidential voting patterns in 2016 at census tract level in New York State.MethodsThis cross-sectional analysis used data from New York Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System claims data and the presidential voting results of 2016 in New York State from the Harvard Election Data Archive. We included 63,958 patients who had at least one OUD diagnosis between 2010 and 2016 and 36,004 patients with at least one OP diagnosis between 2012 and 2016. Geospatial mappings were created to compare areas of New York in OUD rates and presidential voting patterns. A multiple regression model examines the extent that certain factors explain OUD rate variation.ResultsSeveral areas shared similar patterns of OUD rates and Republican vote: census tracts in western New York, central New York, and Suffolk County. The correlation between OUD rates and the Republican vote was .38 (P<.001). The regression model with census tract level of demographic and socioeconomic factors explains 30% of the variance in OUD rates, with disability and Republican vote as the most significant predictors.ConclusionsAt the census tract level, OUD rates were positively correlated with Republican support in the 2016 presidential election, disability, unemployment, and unmarried status. Socioeconomic and demographic despair-related features explain a large portion of the association between the Republican vote and OUD. Together, these findings underscore the importance of socioeconomic interventions in combating the opioid epidemic.
Highlights
The United States is experiencing an epidemic of nonmedical opioid use involving both prescribed pain relievers and illegal drugs such as heroin and fentanyl
At the census tract level, opioid use disorder (OUD) rates were positively correlated with Republican support in the 2016 presidential election, disability, unemployment, and unmarried status
Socioeconomic and demographic despair-related features explain a large portion of the association between the Republican vote and OUD
Summary
The United States is experiencing an epidemic of nonmedical opioid use involving both prescribed pain relievers and illegal drugs such as heroin and fentanyl. Geographic variation is a crucial factor in studying patterns in opioid deaths. JMIR Public Health Surveill 2021 | vol 7 | iss. The public face of the opioid epidemic has been represented by the increasing prevalence of opioid-related drug overdoses and resulting fatalities, typically due to respiratory depression [1]. These diagnoses of opioid overdoses are commonly represented in health databases as opioid poisoning (OP) events [6]. Opioid overdose-related deaths have increased dramatically in recent years. Combating the opioid epidemic requires better understanding of the epidemiology of opioid poisoning (OP) and opioid use disorder (OUD)
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